Post by Annie on Jun 13, 2005 19:55:54 GMT 3
Deuce Magazine Interview 2003
"Like the works of his favourite artist, Salvador Dali, it's difficult to draw immediate conclusions about Marat Safin. Quotable, intruiging, and always full of character, Safin is one of the most intruiging and bewildering personalities on the ATP circuit. And he's got some game to boot. Safin will tell you he's an entertainer, not an artist, but he does admit the court can be his own canvas for expression.
Locker-room talk is often tough to put a finger on, but not with Safin. Pull almost any player aside and they'll tell you that when Safin is on his game, playing his best, no one can touch him. Not even by the man rated the greatest of all time."
Safin demolished Pete Sampras in the 2003 US Open final 6-4 6-3 63 in one of the Open Era's most emphatic Grand Slam results. I was such a whipping that Safin could only punctuate the day with the kind of brutal honest that could be mistaken for a joke. Asked during the on-court television interview how he was able to defeat Sampras so convincingly in straight sets, Safin simply replied "You think I know?"
It might not appear so at first - many think Safin lacks respect for the game - but with a little probing you see that Safin has great respect for tennis history and the game's greats. He especially admires John McEnroe for his candor and genuine self-expressionon the court over the years. Like Van Gogh, perhaps, not well received in his epoch, but subsequently revered as a genius.
"McEnroe, why did they watch him, why do they love him? That guy, he was breaking rackets all the time, he was shouting at everybody", says Safin. "And you know what, he's actually a great guy, not a jerk, and everybody knew it. People were all booing and shouting - because they wanted to see more of him - that's why."
Safin also has a deep-rooted respect for Sampras. "With Pete, you always knew when you go to the court you have to play your best tennis to beat him", he says. "I always like to play against him, no matter whether I win or lose. It's great to play against him and it's great to beat him. He's a past-master, a classic artist from the old school. Safin, though, is more an abstractionist. Full of humour, good looking, and not afraid to speak his mind, he has yet to paint a complete picture of himself to the tennis world.
We do know, however, that he has no trouble voicing his opinion. "That's not a good way to start the interview" he said as he settled into a patio chair in Key Biscayne, Florida, after a question about his childhood.
Safin struggled through the early part of 2003. He had nagging injuries in both Sydney and Melbourne, and a bout of the stomach flu at the Pacific Life Open. But for Safin the losses don't seem to sting any more than the wins cause elation. "You can't play your best tennis 365 days of the year. It's impossible", he says. Unfortunately for Safin, his surprising loss to Thomas Johannson in the 2002 Australian Open final is a case in point. "I didn't win the final inof Australian Open when I should have won; everybody thinks so. Maybe Johansson was too good for me."
After winning his third tennis masters series title at the BNP Parisbas Masters in Paris last November, accompanied by a $400,000 check Safin was fitted for the formal jacket he would wear at the openoing festivities of the year end Masters Cup Shanghai. Not a smile was cracked, not an upbeat vibe in the room. He could have just lost a first round match at a Challenger tournament. It was just Marat being Marat. If you don't want your losses to bring you down, why let your victories give you an excessive high? Don't let your results get the better of you in any situation. Enjoy yourself either way. That seems to be Safin's modus operandi for the moment. It's also part of the limited advice he's given to his sister Dinara who first turned pro in 2001. Be yourself, have fun, and don't let others tell you who or what you should be. There's a sense that he wishes he'd heard this advice himself at a younger age - instead of the advice he always seems to get from the press.
He's heard it over and over again. Safin's biggest problem hasn't been his game, people tell him, it has been his head. Read any press conference transcripts and you'll hear the same questions over and over:
Q: How do you explain that you have so much talent and you haven't won more Grand Slam tournaments? Isn't ot frustrating?.
A: I'm 23 years old, I've been #1 in the world, I won a Grand Slam. I have a great career. There's some kids, you know, they're 23 years old, same age as me, and they couldn't win a Grand Slam. So it doesn't make any sense, this - frustrating? Frustrating would be like if I dropped out of the top 200 and never come back.
Q: Are you disappointed to be #3 in the world?
A: You know, #3 is not so bad last time I checked.
Marat Safin has has refined his outward speech to the point where he says he's happy with what he's accomplished. But like all good surrealists, Safin's press conferences, while usually humourous and whimsical, frequently tap into his inner emotions. When Safin told the media last year that winning the Davis Cup was "better than sex", it was Safin's unedited subconscious that would havemade Dali proud.
Playing indoors on clay in Paris, Safin won 2 singles matches over France to help lead his country to their first Davis Cup title. When younger teamate Mikhail Youzhny went up against Davis Cup rooke Paul-Henri Mathieu in the fifth and deciding rubber after Safin had tied the match at 2-2, Safin joked that a pair of "juniors" were squaring off. Just 22, Safin was the leader of the Russian team.
"It's not the experience that brings so much to the team as his level of tennis, says Youzhny " He's a guy who can go out and win 2 points for the team, even 3 points. And he's very supportive of everyone on the team. That means a lot. After winning his tough match against Grosjean (in the final) he was out on the side of the court cheering me on a few games later."
Last year's Davis Cup victory in Paris was a watershed moment for tennis in Russia; the team received a heroes welcome when it returned home. Unlike its art and artists, Russia does not have a history and tradition of tennis. Safin is making history as he goes. Perhaps that's why he feels so much pressure. "Basically they expect from us to win every tournament back home in Russia. It's nice to play for your country in Davis Cup, but there's a lot of tension when you play."
And though he still might be refining his own artistic style and expression, don't call him an abstractionist yet. "I really don't like that modern art stuff, the kind of art where you need to be on mushrooms or something to figure it out", he says. "Kasmir Malevich, you know him? The guy with the white squares? I mean, what is this?"
Interpretations of abstraction vary across the spectrum from talented and genius to disappointing and adolescent. Even a white square on white canvas can provide many different perceptions.
By Rob Penner
Typed by Maryann.
"Like the works of his favourite artist, Salvador Dali, it's difficult to draw immediate conclusions about Marat Safin. Quotable, intruiging, and always full of character, Safin is one of the most intruiging and bewildering personalities on the ATP circuit. And he's got some game to boot. Safin will tell you he's an entertainer, not an artist, but he does admit the court can be his own canvas for expression.
Locker-room talk is often tough to put a finger on, but not with Safin. Pull almost any player aside and they'll tell you that when Safin is on his game, playing his best, no one can touch him. Not even by the man rated the greatest of all time."
Safin demolished Pete Sampras in the 2003 US Open final 6-4 6-3 63 in one of the Open Era's most emphatic Grand Slam results. I was such a whipping that Safin could only punctuate the day with the kind of brutal honest that could be mistaken for a joke. Asked during the on-court television interview how he was able to defeat Sampras so convincingly in straight sets, Safin simply replied "You think I know?"
It might not appear so at first - many think Safin lacks respect for the game - but with a little probing you see that Safin has great respect for tennis history and the game's greats. He especially admires John McEnroe for his candor and genuine self-expressionon the court over the years. Like Van Gogh, perhaps, not well received in his epoch, but subsequently revered as a genius.
"McEnroe, why did they watch him, why do they love him? That guy, he was breaking rackets all the time, he was shouting at everybody", says Safin. "And you know what, he's actually a great guy, not a jerk, and everybody knew it. People were all booing and shouting - because they wanted to see more of him - that's why."
Safin also has a deep-rooted respect for Sampras. "With Pete, you always knew when you go to the court you have to play your best tennis to beat him", he says. "I always like to play against him, no matter whether I win or lose. It's great to play against him and it's great to beat him. He's a past-master, a classic artist from the old school. Safin, though, is more an abstractionist. Full of humour, good looking, and not afraid to speak his mind, he has yet to paint a complete picture of himself to the tennis world.
We do know, however, that he has no trouble voicing his opinion. "That's not a good way to start the interview" he said as he settled into a patio chair in Key Biscayne, Florida, after a question about his childhood.
Safin struggled through the early part of 2003. He had nagging injuries in both Sydney and Melbourne, and a bout of the stomach flu at the Pacific Life Open. But for Safin the losses don't seem to sting any more than the wins cause elation. "You can't play your best tennis 365 days of the year. It's impossible", he says. Unfortunately for Safin, his surprising loss to Thomas Johannson in the 2002 Australian Open final is a case in point. "I didn't win the final inof Australian Open when I should have won; everybody thinks so. Maybe Johansson was too good for me."
After winning his third tennis masters series title at the BNP Parisbas Masters in Paris last November, accompanied by a $400,000 check Safin was fitted for the formal jacket he would wear at the openoing festivities of the year end Masters Cup Shanghai. Not a smile was cracked, not an upbeat vibe in the room. He could have just lost a first round match at a Challenger tournament. It was just Marat being Marat. If you don't want your losses to bring you down, why let your victories give you an excessive high? Don't let your results get the better of you in any situation. Enjoy yourself either way. That seems to be Safin's modus operandi for the moment. It's also part of the limited advice he's given to his sister Dinara who first turned pro in 2001. Be yourself, have fun, and don't let others tell you who or what you should be. There's a sense that he wishes he'd heard this advice himself at a younger age - instead of the advice he always seems to get from the press.
He's heard it over and over again. Safin's biggest problem hasn't been his game, people tell him, it has been his head. Read any press conference transcripts and you'll hear the same questions over and over:
Q: How do you explain that you have so much talent and you haven't won more Grand Slam tournaments? Isn't ot frustrating?.
A: I'm 23 years old, I've been #1 in the world, I won a Grand Slam. I have a great career. There's some kids, you know, they're 23 years old, same age as me, and they couldn't win a Grand Slam. So it doesn't make any sense, this - frustrating? Frustrating would be like if I dropped out of the top 200 and never come back.
Q: Are you disappointed to be #3 in the world?
A: You know, #3 is not so bad last time I checked.
Marat Safin has has refined his outward speech to the point where he says he's happy with what he's accomplished. But like all good surrealists, Safin's press conferences, while usually humourous and whimsical, frequently tap into his inner emotions. When Safin told the media last year that winning the Davis Cup was "better than sex", it was Safin's unedited subconscious that would havemade Dali proud.
Playing indoors on clay in Paris, Safin won 2 singles matches over France to help lead his country to their first Davis Cup title. When younger teamate Mikhail Youzhny went up against Davis Cup rooke Paul-Henri Mathieu in the fifth and deciding rubber after Safin had tied the match at 2-2, Safin joked that a pair of "juniors" were squaring off. Just 22, Safin was the leader of the Russian team.
"It's not the experience that brings so much to the team as his level of tennis, says Youzhny " He's a guy who can go out and win 2 points for the team, even 3 points. And he's very supportive of everyone on the team. That means a lot. After winning his tough match against Grosjean (in the final) he was out on the side of the court cheering me on a few games later."
Last year's Davis Cup victory in Paris was a watershed moment for tennis in Russia; the team received a heroes welcome when it returned home. Unlike its art and artists, Russia does not have a history and tradition of tennis. Safin is making history as he goes. Perhaps that's why he feels so much pressure. "Basically they expect from us to win every tournament back home in Russia. It's nice to play for your country in Davis Cup, but there's a lot of tension when you play."
And though he still might be refining his own artistic style and expression, don't call him an abstractionist yet. "I really don't like that modern art stuff, the kind of art where you need to be on mushrooms or something to figure it out", he says. "Kasmir Malevich, you know him? The guy with the white squares? I mean, what is this?"
Interpretations of abstraction vary across the spectrum from talented and genius to disappointing and adolescent. Even a white square on white canvas can provide many different perceptions.
By Rob Penner
Typed by Maryann.
