Safin on- court interview AO SF'05

Interview post match after defeating Rog in the epic AO 2005 semi final.

Final Points Safin vs Federer AO'05

Check this video to see what i mean when i say Safin was REALLY the 'real deal'

How can you NOT love this man, really ...

I was going to make this post about alot of other stuff, above all, Henin's shock retirement and my sentiments towards perhaps aesthetically the most pleasing athlete on the WTA tour after the incomparable Graf.

Or i was going to talk about how the our be-hatred Jerk-o-vic was grounded into dirt by King Rafa, albeit with a stark reality that Novak really is out there to stay. Maybe i`d have talked about Rafa and his burgeoning skills on clay court and how i dont see him losing out on this particular surface for another three years atleast, health permitting. I`d have perhaps chosen to discuss the single most important worrying thought swirling in my mind , that of Roger Federer and his rotten 2008 and his inability to even remotely accept that he is unable to match up to the craptastic journeyman of tour. I mean, losing to Mardy Fish, then Radek Stapnek, both at Semi Final and then Quarter final of a MASTER SERIES event - its unbelievably shocking to see how lax Rog has been, BUT - despite all of that - i read a particular article by the ever erudite Peter Bodo and that compelled me to throw out all of my previous plans and write this blog about the ONE AND ONLY , Marat ...... Marat Safin.

Its hard to imagine that this tall, powerful, ultra-charismatic Russian will be a major force in tennis again. Balls just exploded off Safin's racket; he had/has one of the best, forehand-backhand-one-two punches of all time. He's the only guy who showed that, at this best, he could whip an in-form Roger Federer on hard courts.

(http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3388372&name=bodo_peter) read for entire article

You see , regardless of my love for the old, yet lifetime heroes like Pete Sampras (my ALL TIME FAVOURITE PLAYER), or Goran Ivanenisvic, or lately Roger Federer (2nd to Sampras in my beloved players) there remains one special category which is owned by the charismatic, mercurial, phenomenally talented yet tragically flawed .... one and only - Marat Safin. I mean, i can go on and on and wax lyrical about this man who has driven me nuts over the years ever since his victory in 2000 Us Open. Here is the man who can, on his day, be the GREATEST tennis champion in contemporary era, vying for the top spot with Roger Federer, squashing the likes of Roddicks, DJerkovics, but like all the mortal, flawed heroes, he too is one who has left us fans craving for more, and more. How gut wrenching it is ( and i do not exaggerate ) to see him losing to ridiculously lame journemen players, one has no idea. But I, hereby again declare my undying love for this special player, who will always remain my eternal emotional favourite, and for whom i ll always hope for a replica of Wimbledoon 2001 ala Goran, when Marat would be able to rise from the ashes , summon all of his divine abilities and conjour up magic by winning ONE more grandslam .... and go down in glory. I truly, honestly, pray for that.

WHO let the Djoke out ! who , who, who !?!?!

The title says all - the whiny, arrogant, brash and basically, a cry baby - who let him out ? really ?

atleast roddick is not 'THAT' brash, u know ... as our most hated serbian is - looking forward to somebody givig him a pasting in the next round and then do an imitation of a crying Djokovic. would make for good spectacle :)

Great. I've gone ahead and jinxed Nadal. Sorry about that, eh, Rafa.

So Nadal, after a staggering 103 straight victories on clay (untouchable on a surface for 3 straight years, w00t!) lost in the Rome Open to Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5, 6-1.

To make matters worse I was actually routing for Ferrero-Rochers the first set... (how the hell did i know he'd actually WIN the damn thing!??!).

But in all honesty, I love Juanqui to death, and i'm glad that if Nadal had to be defeated, it was by El Mosquito. I kept on running through my head what a special player he was and how amazing it was that he kept on managing to keep up with the top players (note to marat) in the face of the 'spanish fever'. this 'spanish fever' being, that the only tennis player worth a hoot in spain, is ofocurse, Nadal (not his fault though). Juanqui has always felt saddened how he was the apple of the spanish eyes in his heyday, yet was dumped quickly by the crowds by his younger, fitter replacement (wham, bam, thank y- HEY LOOK, there goes Nadal!). He's been disheartened by the way his countrymen have left his side, and it affected both his tennis and his demeanor. We all know that there's not a more hardworking bloke that this feller, and it didn't seem fair that the media, journalists, sports writers, and tennis-watchers just forgot about him one day, in the haze of Nadalitis ("Juan Carlos? oh yeah that skinny bloke who is good on clay?"). Ofcourse his true fans have sticked with him, through the thin, and fans like me who weren't necessarily there to see him at him prime, but were definitely won over not only by his game, but his sheer determination, that head held high, fighting the Fight, and not giving in.

And like HELL he deserved the win. Though when it was the first set, 5-5 levelled, Nadal was certainly still on top. I just think fatigued kicked in the young 21-year old. Mental and physical, but mostly mental. I mean, he is human after all - four weeks of non-stop top-level competition (Monte Carlo, Barca, Rome and Hamburg next) is not something that is recommended. He just was tired, the poor boy. And it's good he got our early, and to a distinguished opponent, so that he can spend the next five days recuperating and building up that motivation.

A few clip-its from nadal's post-match today:

• Q. When did you first start feeling the problem with the foot?
  RAFAEL NADAL: Well, the Sunday in the night. When I wake up for 6:00 in the morning for come here, I put the foot on the floor and I can't put the foot on the floor. So I call the trainer for my trainer for come to the room and put something for can go to the airport, and I did.
• I always went like this because I scared, no? So, you know, the calendar is impossible. Last week and in Barcelona everybody is talking about how you feel about the calendar and everything. I said for me going to be impossible four weeks in a row playing well, no? They told me, Yes, but you have already two playing very well. I said, Yes, but in a few days you going to see why it's impossible, and disappointing they going to see. Finally they see it's impossible, no? Just congratulate Juan Carlos, because this is an important win for him, I think. He's trying to go to Olympics, too, so important points for him. Just happy for him because he's a nice guy and a very good player. That's it, no? I just try to at home have some rest, and after try to go with my best feelings to Hamburg.
• Q. You know that Etienne of the ATP is here. Are you going to talk to him and say the same thing you told us about the calendar, what you said in Barcelona? I know you have told him already, but do you think there is a chance that something can change, or you don't think anything will change?
  RAFAEL NADAL: I don't have nothing to speak with this man, no? Not more.
• Q. Don't trust him?
  RAFAEL NADAL: Lose more time trying to fight for nothing it's very stupid, so I have it's stupid. Last year I have a lot of time lose a lot of time trying to understand why he doing these things, and he's impossible to understand. So right now it's not the moment for speak about that because I lose, and when I lose always the people think about it as an excuse for my lose. So I spoke about this in Monte Carlo and Barcelona when I win. When I lose I don't like to speak about these things.
• RAFAEL NADAL: For sure it's very important tournament for me here. Lose here is very, very tough for me just for everything, no? For the crowd because the crowd support me a lot always. So I just can say thanks very much, because probably I won in 2005 and 2006 for the support of the crowd. So that's tough for me. Very nice for me coming back here, but at the same time, very disappointing for me to come here without my best preparation. That's true, no? Finally, I can't do more, no? I play my best and I am here. I try to prepare with my best motivation the first two days here practicing: first day twenty minutes; second day one hour but without move and without play points, without nothing.
  So it's very difficult to prepare for a tournament like this, no?
• RAFAEL NADAL: The feeling is, well, normally I know more than you how tough is win a lot of the matches on clay and in every surface, so I am prepared for this moment because I know already when I go on court everything can happen and I can lose every day. Right now for sure I'm disappointing because it's very important tournament for me and important because I have chances for improve in the ranking and for don't lose points and continue to improve in the race. Disappointing for me I can't be 100% and I can't win, so it was tough.

We head into Rome tomorrow!

clay, clay, clay! yours truly has a clay fetish that drives her through May in a very positive, embracing, warm self.

So kids, what have we learned these last two weeks of Monte Carlo and Barcelona/Munich?

- Nadal, a clay centurion, looks right about unbeatable on clay this season.

- Federer has yet ANOTHER 1-up on Nadal (Monte Carlo final) yet chose to give into instinct and CHOKE in typical clay-finalesque fashion.

- Marat got to a quarterfinal! yaaaaay!

- Gasquet lost to rising-lone-star Sam Querry, in a very disappointing showing. Querry, after years of underperforming on the Big-Boy circuit, might be showing signs of fitting in. With the stagnant state of american tennis (that kinda sorta' gave up growing with the Willamses and Roddick) might have a new star.

- Federer's new coach Higueras, the dude who saw the likes of Chang and Connors lift the French, seemed to have affected our Swiss the first 5 days of MC. But its amazing how, when facing Rafa on a red floor, Federer seems to lose all hope/belief that he can possibly win. Thats the only thing keeping him back now: this mental block that has him convinced that Rafa's "got his number" on clay. And sadly, the block strengthens with each passing lost. As much as i think the GOAT deserves a french, i highly highly doubt he's getting one this year. Unless a miracle happens.