09/07/00
Your "Player of the Month" in August
courtesy atp.tour



Again it was your turn to vote for your "Player of the Month". Your favorites this time - amongst other players - were Gustavo Kuerten, the champion of Indianapolis, and Marat Safin, the winner of the Tennis Masters Series Toronto and the runner-up in Indianapolis. Thank you very much for all you contributions!

As we already had Gustavo Kuerten being the "Player of the Month" for May, we have chosen Marat Safin for August. You have sent us some very nice articles on him, and we have selected a portrait by Wilfred A. Birco from the Philippines. He considers the "Russian Powerhouse" as the forthcoming king of tennis, and his article explains why. Enjoy!

"Bearing all the strength and confidence, the winner of the Tennis Masters Series in Toronto struggles to be at the top among the other professionals. Mighty Marat Mikhailovich Safin, a giant-killer of a Russian, swiftly climbed in the ATP Champions Race after being a surprise winner in Toronto.

I have chosen Marat Safin to be the Player of the Month because amongst the other promising players he has got the intensity and the power, agility and speed, not mentioning his good looks. Marat has reached several finals of different tournaments, including the latest RCA Championships in Indianapolis where he competed against the "King of clay court" and the leader of the Champions Race, Gustavo Kuerten.

For me he is the star that continues to twinkle everytime he joins a tournament. Having no permanent court, he struggles to get the victory that he has always been longing for. He performs so well that everytime he reaches a certain match he wins and definitely gains a corresponding point. In the year 2000 he added three more good and notable singles title.

During his match against the ever so well-performing player, Pete Sampras, Safin showed his potential as he gave his best play giving him the opportunity to win against Pete Sampras. He played well to win against Ferreira whom he played against in the semi-finals. Eventually, with lots of confidence and faith, he won against Israel's Harel Levy - getting his first ever Masters Series title in his whole tennis career. Because of this success he climbed up four big steps in the ATP Tour Champions Race beating players like Agassi and Kafelnikov.

All I can say is that Safin is the best among the best, the luckiest among the lucky, the strongest among the strongest and he is nothing but the adventurer in the tennis world. A giant-killer that will soon be a legend, a history and a giant as well like the other pros such as Sampras, Agassi and Kuerten. Simply Safin, the king of the tennis world."

(by Wilfred A. Birco/Philippines)