Post by Annie on Jun 28, 2005 15:55:11 GMT 3
TOP GUN
By Isabelle
Please do not reproduce this without her permission
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait, and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise&ldots;"
Time was, watching Marat Safin play a tennis match equaled a hefty dose of stress - nail biting, cringing, woeful shakes of the head. Not now. Used to be, the pressure got to him so much that it wasn't really about the other player defeating him as it was about him losing the match to himself. Not anymore. Once upon a time Marat personified the clichéd Goliath toppled by smaller Davids. But these days&ldots; not ever again.
These days he is "mean, merciless" (according to wry sports commentators); or as Jim Courier tactfully implied - ehrm - "rude", when he blasts through a qualifier in straight sets in the first round of the Australian Open. He sets up a match point from 40-0 to break the heart of the young qualifier in his first Grand Slam event. Is Marat remorseful? Not a bit. Seems he really
IS done "giving Christmas presents"; he goes out there 100% every time, and he plays to win. Losing is not an option - that is what I read in his eyes now. Gone is the confusion, the lost look, the despair - replaced by a fierce determination, spirited focus, and the will of steel to win.
"If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools&ldots;"
Following his progress through the Oz Open this past fortnight, I felt a really positive attitude coming from Marat as he advanced round after round. He seems to be in as excellent a form as he was in last year's indoor season, when he raked up those back to back Masters Series trophies. This time the adrenaline rush I get from watching him play is less of frustration and more of exultation, as I witness how he is so much more in control these days - how he has mastered his temper and learned to keep cool and focused; how he has polished his talent and disciplined that raw firepower - the Marat I see on court these days is no longer a simmering volcano just waiting to erupt - he has metamorphosed himself into something even deadlier: a cool laser beam that shrivels everything in its path as it finds and obliterates its target.
Still, when he went through to the fourth round, I was concerned to see that he would be facing one of the "Davids" of his career - diminutive but mighty Olivier Rochus, who I most remember for sending Marat packing in the early rounds of Wimbledon a few years back. So that day when they finally deigned to cut the action to the Safin-Rochus match, my jaw dropped to see Marat down a set, and trailing 3-1 in the second. My dad laughed at my consternation - it has been a 'tradition' of ours with tennis matches - I of course cheer on Marat, and my dad takes the side of the other player, no matter who it is.
No!!! Take it back Marat, take it back, then hold serve, that's all you have to do! I willed him on. And as if he had miraculously heard me, that is just what he did. There was a time when that would have been a mountain to climb for Marat, especially with a nemesis like the tenacious Rochus, but he did it. And the first thing that I did after Marat closed out match point was to stick my tongue out at my dad, who had a sour look on his face.
In the quarters, it was my mom who came in sometime during the second set and asked sorrowfully, "Is it murder?" I nodded yes gleefully. (Sorry, Dominick!
That's how charismatic Marat is - to be able to goad my dad into a competitive feud with me, and to capture my mom's interest, when she is absolutely clueless about tennis.
"If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you,
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!' &ldots;"
And so to the semis &ldots; and that titan of a showdown against the World No.1. That match is sure to go down in tennis history as one of the classics, placing right beside Marat's epic quarters and semis performances last year against last year's no.1 and defending champion. This time he literally killed two birds with one stone, in a match that left me limp and drained after the stunning conclusion.
And for Marat the significance of this semifinals victory is multifold and momentous: apart from it being the best birthday present ever, and apart from it paving the way to his 3rd Australian Open Final, with this win Marat has proven once again that he IS the ultimate opponent, the name who the players look for immediately in the draws, and with good reason: Marat has that incredible gift, the total package that lets him stand inside the court and makes him a force to be reckoned with: the Alpha Wolf who shatters pedestals, time and again. Marat humbles the legends - from Pete Sampras to Andre Agassi, to his peers and former World No.1s Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. And tonight he achieved another milestone - that of ending the 26-match winning streak of "the greatest player in the world", literally and figuratively forcing Roger Federer to his knees in the final point of that awesome encounter.
What a delivery, Marat. Wow. Like a shooting star burning through the sky, you were just unstoppable. Tonight the only hint of despair I ever got came from the man on the other side of the net. Not even when you were facing match points in the fourth set did you buckle. That is what I have been insisting on time and again in all of my past articles - that fighting spirit that I know is inside you, that confidence, that FAITH - the knowledge that you have nothing to lose, so why not play and fight to win?
I cannot find words enough to express how proud I am of you - you have obviously come a long way, and you have matured so beautifully. And yet, you proved with your post-match interview that you are still the same gregarious, wry, charming Marat that you have always been. What more can I say?
"The whole world loves a maverick and the whole world wants the maverick to achieve something nobler than simple rebellion." - Kevin Patterson
I think the whole world agrees with me when I say that you've definitely achieved a fine and noble feat tonight. A wild child you may still be, but no longer the aimless rebel. You've made your mark, and the statement is clear, regardless of Sunday's results; which we are all looking forward to with bated breath nonetheless. (You'd better not be giving away any birthday presents! : A 'mathom', in the manner of a hobbit, Marat? Doesn't fit!)
"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - not lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!"
"If", by Rudyard Kipling
And so I say, Happy 25th Birthday, Marat! Well done. And thank you for justifying all my faith in you - I never gave up hope, and you came through for me! I'm sure all your fans feel the same way. To sum up tonight's match in a word: WOW. And still that hardly begins to say it all.
My birthday wishes for you? Health, happiness, success, light and love as always. And heck, why not - your second Grand Slam! And more throughout the year. You can do it, you know. I know this time that in your heart you do know.
I hope you also know - though I may have been silent for a long while, due to sorrows and troubles of my own -
I believe in you.
Always have. Always will.
Isabelle *)
1.28.2005
01:27 am
By Isabelle
Please do not reproduce this without her permission
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait, and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise&ldots;"
Time was, watching Marat Safin play a tennis match equaled a hefty dose of stress - nail biting, cringing, woeful shakes of the head. Not now. Used to be, the pressure got to him so much that it wasn't really about the other player defeating him as it was about him losing the match to himself. Not anymore. Once upon a time Marat personified the clichéd Goliath toppled by smaller Davids. But these days&ldots; not ever again.
These days he is "mean, merciless" (according to wry sports commentators); or as Jim Courier tactfully implied - ehrm - "rude", when he blasts through a qualifier in straight sets in the first round of the Australian Open. He sets up a match point from 40-0 to break the heart of the young qualifier in his first Grand Slam event. Is Marat remorseful? Not a bit. Seems he really
IS done "giving Christmas presents"; he goes out there 100% every time, and he plays to win. Losing is not an option - that is what I read in his eyes now. Gone is the confusion, the lost look, the despair - replaced by a fierce determination, spirited focus, and the will of steel to win.
"If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools&ldots;"
Following his progress through the Oz Open this past fortnight, I felt a really positive attitude coming from Marat as he advanced round after round. He seems to be in as excellent a form as he was in last year's indoor season, when he raked up those back to back Masters Series trophies. This time the adrenaline rush I get from watching him play is less of frustration and more of exultation, as I witness how he is so much more in control these days - how he has mastered his temper and learned to keep cool and focused; how he has polished his talent and disciplined that raw firepower - the Marat I see on court these days is no longer a simmering volcano just waiting to erupt - he has metamorphosed himself into something even deadlier: a cool laser beam that shrivels everything in its path as it finds and obliterates its target.
Still, when he went through to the fourth round, I was concerned to see that he would be facing one of the "Davids" of his career - diminutive but mighty Olivier Rochus, who I most remember for sending Marat packing in the early rounds of Wimbledon a few years back. So that day when they finally deigned to cut the action to the Safin-Rochus match, my jaw dropped to see Marat down a set, and trailing 3-1 in the second. My dad laughed at my consternation - it has been a 'tradition' of ours with tennis matches - I of course cheer on Marat, and my dad takes the side of the other player, no matter who it is.
No!!! Take it back Marat, take it back, then hold serve, that's all you have to do! I willed him on. And as if he had miraculously heard me, that is just what he did. There was a time when that would have been a mountain to climb for Marat, especially with a nemesis like the tenacious Rochus, but he did it. And the first thing that I did after Marat closed out match point was to stick my tongue out at my dad, who had a sour look on his face.
In the quarters, it was my mom who came in sometime during the second set and asked sorrowfully, "Is it murder?" I nodded yes gleefully. (Sorry, Dominick!
That's how charismatic Marat is - to be able to goad my dad into a competitive feud with me, and to capture my mom's interest, when she is absolutely clueless about tennis."If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you,
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!' &ldots;"
And so to the semis &ldots; and that titan of a showdown against the World No.1. That match is sure to go down in tennis history as one of the classics, placing right beside Marat's epic quarters and semis performances last year against last year's no.1 and defending champion. This time he literally killed two birds with one stone, in a match that left me limp and drained after the stunning conclusion.
And for Marat the significance of this semifinals victory is multifold and momentous: apart from it being the best birthday present ever, and apart from it paving the way to his 3rd Australian Open Final, with this win Marat has proven once again that he IS the ultimate opponent, the name who the players look for immediately in the draws, and with good reason: Marat has that incredible gift, the total package that lets him stand inside the court and makes him a force to be reckoned with: the Alpha Wolf who shatters pedestals, time and again. Marat humbles the legends - from Pete Sampras to Andre Agassi, to his peers and former World No.1s Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. And tonight he achieved another milestone - that of ending the 26-match winning streak of "the greatest player in the world", literally and figuratively forcing Roger Federer to his knees in the final point of that awesome encounter.
What a delivery, Marat. Wow. Like a shooting star burning through the sky, you were just unstoppable. Tonight the only hint of despair I ever got came from the man on the other side of the net. Not even when you were facing match points in the fourth set did you buckle. That is what I have been insisting on time and again in all of my past articles - that fighting spirit that I know is inside you, that confidence, that FAITH - the knowledge that you have nothing to lose, so why not play and fight to win?
I cannot find words enough to express how proud I am of you - you have obviously come a long way, and you have matured so beautifully. And yet, you proved with your post-match interview that you are still the same gregarious, wry, charming Marat that you have always been. What more can I say?
"The whole world loves a maverick and the whole world wants the maverick to achieve something nobler than simple rebellion." - Kevin Patterson
I think the whole world agrees with me when I say that you've definitely achieved a fine and noble feat tonight. A wild child you may still be, but no longer the aimless rebel. You've made your mark, and the statement is clear, regardless of Sunday's results; which we are all looking forward to with bated breath nonetheless. (You'd better not be giving away any birthday presents! : A 'mathom', in the manner of a hobbit, Marat? Doesn't fit!)
"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - not lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!"
"If", by Rudyard Kipling
And so I say, Happy 25th Birthday, Marat! Well done. And thank you for justifying all my faith in you - I never gave up hope, and you came through for me! I'm sure all your fans feel the same way. To sum up tonight's match in a word: WOW. And still that hardly begins to say it all.
My birthday wishes for you? Health, happiness, success, light and love as always. And heck, why not - your second Grand Slam! And more throughout the year. You can do it, you know. I know this time that in your heart you do know.
I hope you also know - though I may have been silent for a long while, due to sorrows and troubles of my own -
I believe in you.
Always have. Always will.
Isabelle *)
1.28.2005
01:27 am
