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Post by tini on Nov 1, 2009 16:00:18 GMT 3
you are welcome! Too bad and too sad he had to lose in the semis..was so close  Wished there would have been a better ending of this season..well, one tournament to go, looking forward to see it but not to the end of everything (okay just tennis)...will miss him next year!!! |
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Post by tinuviel on Nov 8, 2009 22:44:57 GMT 3
Found this from Andrea Ney - it was written a little while ago - but thought it was so nice I'd share it with you all. Only Paris to go (except for expos) and if he gets past a qualifier it looks like he could meet Del Pot in the next round so ..... Well here's hoping and being optimistic. And enjoy the article  There's a reason we refer to artists as tortured, and Marat Safin is no exception.
Tennis is an aesthetic sport. Matthew McGough of The Boston Globe wrote: "Underlying the cries of 'en fuego!' or 'straight butta'...is another, calmer term that might be used to describe this and other great sports moments of the highest order: beautiful."
Safin’s game, at its best and even at its worst, is breathtaking. The efficient, crisply hit serve. The enormous wingspan. The exacting volleys. The look to the heavens as he berates himself in Russian, Spanish, or English. The primal scream evoked each time he double-faults. The body. Even his notorious racquet-breaking is raw, honest, and deeply compelling.
Roger Federer famously said that he wishes to play beautifully for the fans. Safin shares that quality with his friend. But, Federer also has the "do whatever it takes to win" mentality. Marat doesn't.
And, so, for Safin, the game, the set, and the match are not scored by points. They're scored by movements, much like brushstrokes on canvas. Every misstep, every errant splash of paint, throws a curve from which, often, he can’t recover.
Go back and watch the Charlie Rose interview in 2000 as Safin discusses his victory over Pete Sampras in Toronto: "I think he made me a present there, because he served a double fault on his match point, and he served double fault on my match point. So I can't tell that I beat him." Marat didn't feel he'd actually won because the very last point wasn't a winner.
Watch any match from the last ten years. Look at how frustrated he gets when he loses his serve. Then, by contrast, see how relatively calm he is after a win - a small glimmer of a smile, a little nod to the crowd.
You rarely see Safin pulling out a Chad Johnson touchdown dance or releasing the same kind of energy in victory as he does when he's mad. It's not about the outcome, after all. It's about perfectionism.
The reason, perhaps, is that Safin experienced the elusive "perfect match" once, too early. He was a 20-year-old ingénue with an improbable victory over Sampras in the 2000 U.S. Open. His career, though long, has arguably been downhill from there, as he tried despite injury to reach that level of greatness with every. single. backhand.
His most lethal opponent, more often than not, is only himself. For Safin, the competition itself is boring. “I am not a player,” he says. It's the honing of his craft, the chasing of aces, that's kept the man with a fear of flying hopping flights to Madrid, Melbourne, and Miami the last nine years.
This week, Safin will carry his rackets to Arthur Ashe Stadium for his last Grand Slam appearance. He will bid his final adieu to tennis fans at Bercy in November. Where, then, do we place the big Russian in the long line of tennis greats?
He will certainly be tapped for the Hall of Fame, but how will his game be stacked against the likes of Agassi, Ivanisevic, or Nadal? The answer isn't simple, just as judging an art contest is often futile.
Viewing tennis as a game, one competitor wins by virtue of points. Considering it as an art form, each athlete must be judged through a different set of lenses. Nadal may play in striking black and white and do it stunningly, but Safin performs in cross-processed color, entrancing in a very different way.
Like any storied artist, he is an enigma. So much of what makes Marat Safin legendary has little to do with his conduct on the court and everything to do with his personality outside it. He is at the same time larger than life and quietly private.
Friend Arnaud Casagrande once described him as the James Dean of tennis, while Marc Rosset has said before that Marat would immediately "sign up to be number one and at the same time unknown."
We should be careful not to, as is the norm in the sports world, focus only on his statistics. Forget the win-loss record. Forget the number of titles. Forget the number of Grand Slam semis he reached.
Think back, instead, to the excruciatingly beautiful and wicked down-the-line backhand, the deranged yell, and the shy smile. Recall the endearing, protective tone he used when discussing his parents and the more recent defense of his top-ranked sister.
Remember the thousands of autographs he signed with grace despite debilitating setbacks. Count the number of fans who bought tickets just to catch a glimpse of him practice or who stayed up to all hours to watch his matches halfway around the world on Internet feeds.
And then, there is the wit. Safin is press conference soundbite gold. From the side-splitting: "Never give up. Last year I was trying to give up but I couldn't." To the profound: "We live because of the dreams."
What other player has been caught reading during changeovers? What other sportsman takes time off during the season to climb Cho Oyu? What other athlete would keep his under-the-radar manager, turn down lucrative endorsements, and declare, "Why have more, when this is enough at the moment?"
Marat Safin wouldn't want to be immortalized as a god or a hero, titles his Safinettes will likely bestow. "I did my job, and I got a beautiful cup and a beautiful cheque," he says. "That's it. I didn't change the world."
When the goodbye comes this fall, let's remember him as an artist. In that sense, as Martina Navratilova said, "he is perfect." |
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Post by tinuviel on Nov 8, 2009 22:49:58 GMT 3
Ooops - forgot to add the photo that goes with the article above. Enjoy!!  |
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Post by audrey on Nov 9, 2009 5:32:25 GMT 3
Oh tear! That was a beautiful article. Thanks for sharing. |
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Post by Annaya on Nov 9, 2009 10:07:19 GMT 3
Amazing...simply amazing...
And the pic too, of course.
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Post by tinuviel on Nov 9, 2009 14:48:52 GMT 3
Oh tear! That was a beautiful article. Thanks for sharing. No worries. I stumbled across it and thought it was too good to keep to myself! |
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Post by tinuviel on Nov 9, 2009 14:50:32 GMT 3
Amazing...simply amazing... And the pic too, of course. Yeah - who else could look that good and that hot with a towel covering half his face. I'd say beautiful eyes - but there's only one showing, so..... Beautiful eye ( mmmmm .... and the body too I guess) Sigh! |
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Post by tini on Nov 9, 2009 15:29:14 GMT 3
Great article! Thanks for sharing, so I could read it again..think I've done it before but worth reading again and again..
Oh and the pic is amazing too, how he can look that good!?
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Mish!
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Post by Mish! on Nov 10, 2009 14:49:11 GMT 3
Brilliant Article and Brilliant News:
Marat Safin battles through
Marat Safin avoided the ignominy of heading into retirement with a first-round defeat in the Paris Masters after seeing off Thierry Ascione in a third-set tie-break.
Marat Safin avoided the ignominy of heading into retirement with a first-round defeat in the Paris Masters after seeing off Thierry Ascione in a third-set tie-break.
Former world number one Safin, playing his final tournament before calling time on his playing days, held his nerve to progress to the second round with a 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7/3) over the Frenchman.
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Mish!
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Post by Mish! on Nov 11, 2009 13:46:58 GMT 3
THIS IS MASSIVE AND I'M REALLY INTERESTED HOW THE WORLD PRESS AND EX PLAYERS REACT TO THIS..
SAFIN AT HIS SUBLIMEN OUTSPOKEN BEST
Courtesy: espnstar.com
Safin: Agassi must give back titles
Marat Safin has challenged Andre Agassi to give back his titles and prize money as a sign of his remorse.
The American, who won eight grand slam titles and earned more than US$30million in prize money during his distinguished career, revealed in his newly-released autobiography, 'Open', that he failed a drugs test for crystal meth in 1997 then lied to avoid a ban.
Agassi has listed guilt and a desire to help others who may be tempted by drugs as the reasons behind his shock admission, but Safin wants the 39-year-old to prove his sincerity.
"He feels guilty? So let him just give back his titles, money, his grand slams," the outspoken Russian told L'Equipe.
"If he is about fair play, he should go all the way. The ATP have a bank account, he can refund the money if he wants to.
"What's done is done. He hopes to sell more books. But he is completely stupid," added former world number one Safin, who is playing in his final tournament before retirement at the Paris Masters this week.
"I'm not defending the ATP but what he said put them in a bad position. The ATP allowed him to win a lot of tournaments, to make a lot of money.
"They kept his secret so why be so cruel with them? There are times you need to be able to shut up."
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Wished there would have been a better ending of this season..well, one tournament to go, looking forward to see it but not to the end of everything (okay just tennis)...will miss him next year!!! 
