Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mubinovich Safinis a Russian retired tennis player and politician. Safin won two Grand Slam tournaments and reached the world no. 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin is the older brother of former world No. 1 WTA player, Dinara Safina. They are the first and only brother–sister tandem in tennis history who have both achieved no. 1 rankings...
NationalityRussian
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth27 January 1980
CityMoscow, Russia
CountryRussian Federation
I am happy. I mean, playing Fabrice is not so nice for me... he was leading 7-1 in matches we'd played, so I am happy to be back and to win.
I am going to try to play New Haven probably because I need to play a couple more matches to get used to it, work on my fitness and get my rhythm back.
But it was still a great match. I don't know the last time I played such great tennis. It was probably my best match ever on grass.
It was a very, very good match and I am happy to have won a five-setter.
I tried to be as aggressive as I can and try to get into the match very quickly,
I think the crowd should get a video cassette of this match because it was a classic,
I'm taking this tournament very seriously and in this sort of match you have to take your opportunities when they come.
I didn't practice for one month and a half and I played three matches in a row and today I felt really, really tired on the court. I couldn't move properly and I couldn't find my game. My timing was not there. So it's really difficult to play against any player.
He played really well and his game caught me off guard a bit. But I was expecting him to give me a tough match because the French always raise their game when they're playing at home in Davis Cup.
In my position, I think it's enough, ... If I didn't have a sore knee, I would go to New Haven (for next week's tournament) and try to get the rhythm back and try to get the confidence before the U.S. Open. In my position, I have to think about my knee and how many matches I have, so it will be OK for the U.S. Open.
The first set was a bit tough because I hadn't played a match for six months. You are unable to decide where you have to move, when you have to go to the net, whether to put pressure or stay back. I was a bit lost and tense because I knew that I had a chance.
I've slightly changed my action and movement and tonight it really worked well for me.
I've played him many times, six times, but the way he is playing this year, with confidence, to beat him will be very tough. A little bit of luck would be great.
I've been playing non-stop for several weeks and obviously I'm getting tired both physically and mentally. I tried but it wasn't enough.