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Pro tennis. That's the one where you devote your entire life
to training and playing, day in, day out, to the exclusion of
all else, right? Marat Safin - singles guy - begs to differ.
Profile by Suzi Petkovski
www.insidesport.com.au
Marat Safin is vicarious living for lads. There's his instant-gratification
power game - wham bam, thank you linesmen. The regular raquet
game - 48 frames in his "best" year. The back-chatting
to umpires and crashing of tournament courtesy cars. Last but
not least, the bevy of barely dressed blondes at the Australian
Open who looked like they were auditioning for Boogie Nights
II. Don't you want his life?
Stories about Safin? Yeah, sure, say the tour functionaries,
let us get back to you with some printable ones. Safin travels
with a floating cast of characters, not all of them wholesome.
He claims to practise two hours a day tops and spend the rest
of his time frequenting beaches, movie theatres, nightclubs
and restaurants. Handsome, famous, talented and a multimillionaire,
Safin feasts from life's head table. "Good or bad,"
he says, "I try to eat everything."
If only Safin's lust for the game matched his love for life.
The 22-year-old Muscovite could make life very interesting for
world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt. Post-Wimbledon, Pat Rafter pronounced
Hewitt the Tiger Woods of tennis, a stand-out favourite in every
tournament he contests. If there's one player who threatens
Hewitt's dominance, who has the weapons to blast him off the
court, knock off his US Open crown this month and install himself
as No 1, it's the enigmatic Russian. If he ever gets his head
together. Granted, that's a very big "if".
Safin is a 193cm colossus who would look at home guarding the
Kremlin, Kalashnikov in hand. Except that he'd probably be pointing
it at his own foot. The world No 2 has inherited Goran Ivanisevic's
mantle as tennis's favourite multiple-personality. You never
know which Marat's going to show. There's Safin the intimidating,
who plays ennis with a vapour trail. And there's Safin the exasperating,
who sinks to desultory defeat. Take the Australian Open final
last January. After whacking Sampras in the fourth round, Safin
sweated, scraped and clawed past Tommy Haas in a protracted,
difficult semi. The clear favourite in the final against Thomas
Johansson, he stayed with the script for one set, then faded
in four. Blithely unconcerned, Safin pronounced the day a success
- "You have to enjoy the moment" - and hastily departed
for 22nd birthday celebrations with his rock-star entourage.
What's Russian for "Who-gives-a-damn?" "I reached
the final of a Grand Slam," Safin reflected, "and
sure, it's disappointing not to win, but what am I supposed
to do? Lock myse;f in a room and cry?"
A second-round loser at Wimbledon, Safin was again anaesthetised
to the pain of defeat. Seeded second behind Hewitt, he entered
the All England Club with the best Grand Slam win tally this
year (11-2) but was ousted in four by world No 50 Olivier Rochus.
"I couldn't find my game today," he lamely lobbed.
"Is bad day at the office."
Not only is Safin nonchalant in defeat; he doesn't care to learn
from his losses either. "It happens," Safin shrugged
at Wimbledon. "You cannot do anything but say 'Well done,
good luck for the rest of the tournament.' You cannot start
thinking, 'What I did wrong? What I did good?' It happens, that's
it, it's over."
What makes these displays so insulting is that the guy has the
biggest game in tennis. At the 1998 French Open, Safin made
arguably the most impressive Grand Slam debut in tennis history,
upending Andre Agassi and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten
in successive matches. Two summers ago in New York, he had Flushing
Meadows reverberating with future shock after obliterating Pete
Sampras in the US Open final. The fading champion was reminded
of his own Grand Slam arrival on the same court exactly a decade
before. "He could be No 1 if he wants it," said the
shell-shocked Sampras. "He's a big, strong guy and he's
got all the tools. Being No 1 and staying there is a different
ball game but he's got the potential to do that."
Prophetic words. Withing a few weeks, having amassed a tour-best
seven tournaments in 2000, Safin made history as the youngest
man atop the computer rankings, though he didn't stay there.
Still, it was a stunning reversal of his earl-season form, when
he was fined for tanking in the first round at the Australian
Open, endured the bleakest slump of his career and even considered
quitting.
The question at that breakthrough US Open was always whether
Safin could maintain his dominant form. Few are surprised at
his mixed progress since. Safin himself left a clue that his
first Slam victory had taken him by surprise. Asked during the
trophy presentation how he managed to manhandle the Sampras
serve so well, the young behemoth replied: "You think I
know?"
In a wretched 2001 season that saw his ranking fall from two
to 22, Safin was quick to point to the back, knee and rib troubles
that marred his year. An ill-advised raquet change resulted
in a lawsuit and an eventual return to his old Head stick. Others
attribute the backslide to mental, as much as physical, fragility.
"It was frightening how well he played to win the US Open,"
observes John Newcombe. "The following year, it's like
he couldn't stand the pressure of everyone thinking he was that
good - including himself."
Safin promised better things in 2002. "I'm more prepared,"
he vowed at the start of the year. "I'm ready to play and
I'm ready to compete for No 1" Yet, the world No 2 began
the North American hardcourt season with zero tournament wins
this year. What's up with that?
"Me, I'm not a complete nutcase," Safin said with
a laugh, in a conference call late in July. "I'm just different.
Some people don't understand. Sometimes when I'm losing I have
to push myself, I have to break raquet or hit the ball out of
the court. It helps me." Is he stung by talk that he's
squandering his talent? "It hurts, of course it hurts."
Is he going to curb the on-court antics? "It's just the
way I am. I'm going to change myself when I'm 22?" he asks,
rhetorically.
Safin is content to ride his prodigious talent rather than work
it. It all comes down to that elusive confidence. "It's
like love. When you look too hard, you don't find it" It's
also a cop-out for not working harder. Mats Wilander, the Swedish
great who was Safin's coach for most of 2001, says: "You
always have to try to change your game and improve some things.
He has a bit of an attitude that 'I'm good enough to win Grand
Slams, so I'll keep on doing what I'm doing'. He isn't motivated
to improve as other players are. If you want to change anything
in your game, you have to do it between 19 and 22. That's where
Safin is now. If he doesn't do it now, he'll always be the same
player, a great player but unfortunately not another Sampras
or Agassi."
"There's some weakness in his volleys and other parts of
the court," adds Newcombe. "He won't improve on those
unless he does the extra hard yards. If you don't put in the
hours, you'll be found out on the big occasions."
On court, too, Safin isn't the hardest worker. "I have
to push myself to work hard and fight in a match," he admits.
More than half of Safin's career losses have been straight-sets,
crash-and-burn affairs. Runs of first-round losses are another
career signature. Although the scorelines in 2002 have been
more respectable (no first round exit in 17 events), players
know that Safin's game can suddenly go from stupendous to stupid.
Nowhere is Safin's undisciplined approach highlighted more than
in his coaching arrangement, which has all the organisation
of a train wreck. Why was Wilander, a triple Australian Open
champion, skiing in Idaho last January while his charge fell
at the last hurdle in Melbourne, watched by several guys wearing
coach tags and, of course, the mandatory blondes? Mused Wilander:
"I didn't decide to stop coaching Marat. We were supposed
to go to Australia. I think he didn't feel he needed to have
me there, or wanted to have me there."
Word was that Safin was paying huge money for Wilander's services
- something like $US320,000 for 16 weeks work ($US20,000 per
week). He may have decided the return didn't justify the investment.
Why pay for even the best advice if you're not going to take
it?
Safin's fair-weather attitude sure doesn't give a coach a lot
to work with. "A player like Safin will go through a lot
of coaches," Newcombe observes. "It's hard to put
your heart and soul into a guy like that." Indeed, Safin
is a one-man job centre for coaches. He burned through three
in 2000 alone. Lately Safin has travelled with semi-retired
Swiss pro and neighbour Marc Rosset, a fellow genial-giant who
knows how to enjoy himself off-court.
At age 14, as soon as his tennis-playing parents found him a
sponsor, Safin left his family in Moscow and, without speaking
a word of Spanish, moved to Valencia to further his tennis.
He says the transfer was the toughest thing he ever did. Isolated
and immersed in tennis, the teenage years in Spain left several
marks. Safin ressembles a wild child who bucks authority and
defiantly does it all his own way. The reliance on a large supporter
group - "My family" as Safin refers to his entourage
- could well be a legacy of those years, when he lacked the
support of his real family. Friends are now at the top of Safin's
personal ranking system - "They are everything," he
says.
The extensive Safin entourage is unusual in tennis. Observing
the expanding cast of characters in Melbourne this year, Alex
Metreveli, Safin's countryman and '73 Wimbledon finalist, said
Safin is confused about who to have around him. "They're
friends for a week while he is doing well," he remarked.
Newcombe sees it as proof that "He's yet to develop the
art of being uncompromising in an effort to maximise his potential.
Whatever he achieves, he wants to have a good time on the way."
No argument there from Safin. He won't be switching to a monastic
lifestyle anytime soon. "If you're satisfied in your life
out of the court, you play much better inside the court,"
he reasons.
Force-fed tennis throughout his teenage years, for Safin now,
nothing is more horrifying than a life committed to the game.
Nyet to that. "It would be the biggest mistake in my life,"
he declares. "No way. I love tennis but I like to enjoy
my life. It would be a pity to spend probably the best years
of my life just living with tennis. Definitely not. I don't
think you have to destroy your life just because of tennis.
Is boring. Is very boring. I am 22 years old. I am living right
on Miami Beach. I am having so much fun. Why I have to change
my way of life? I love it. Sorry." He's had all the pain;
now for the gain.
In a heavily stage-managed sport, Safin, with his movie-star
looks, chattiness with the press and sly sense of humour, is
a welcome charismatic presence. He can never be accused of taking
himself, or the tennis caper, too seriously. He's popular with
his peers. "I get along with everyone," he proudly
reports. "We compete, then we leave the court and we are
friends. Just because I play you, I have to hate you? No."
Safin would be even more popular if he developed a hatred for
losing (a la Hewitt), played the part of the tennis giant instead
of the tennis playboy and engaged Hewitt in a serious battle
for the top spot. Hewitt-Safin has the makings of a ripping
rivalry. The classic David and Goliath showdown. The pair could
hardly be more different - in strengths, stature or approach.
Safin the king-hitter versus Hewitt the counter-puncher.
Thunderous serve versus lightning return. Mind versus muscle,
concentration versus inspiration. The biggest player versus
the best competitor. Currently locked at three-all, the rivalry's
progression depends a lot more on Safin. He'll need to lift
his professional commitment if he is to make regular finals
appointments with the fantastically single-minded and dependable
Hewitt.
They've split two matches this year; the Australian taking a
third-set tiebreak decision in Miami and Safin squaring up on
German clay 6-3 6-1 - the most clear-cut scoreline in their
six meetings. Hewitt needed four sets to win their first meeting,
in the '99 Davis cup semi-final on grass in Brisbane. Newcombe
was courtside as captain, and what sticks in his memory is Safin's
poor approach to the match, on his weakest surface. "He'd
lost the plot," Newk recalls. "He was pretty average;
not enjoying himself and very down on himself. Here was this
immense talent who wasn't making the most of it. You hate to
see that."
Late in 2001, Hewitt one-upped the Russian, taking the US Open
title and his place in history as the youngest man atop the
rankings (at 20 years and eight months, bettering Safin by a
mere month). Unlike Safin, however, Hewitt held on to the No
1 position.
Ths Us Open this month is the perfect stage for a rematch. "There,
we're going to see who's pretending to be No 1 and who has more
chances [to stay there]," vows Safin. "I would like
to finish this year No 1. It would be a big honour. I want it."
While he respects Hewitt - "He's tough to beat. He's really
consistent, he doesn't lose his mind, doesn't make any mistakes,
very good anticipation, very fast" - Safin doesn't view
the feisty Australian as a dominant No 1. "There is not
a 100 percent No 1 like Sampras was," according to Safin.
"Of course, we have Hewitt, he is a great player but playing
against him, we know we have a chance. If we're fighting, we
know we can beat him."
"Who knows with him?" responds Hewitt. "He can
blow anyone away on any given day. Like when he beat Sampras
at the Australian Open - that was one of the most incredible
matches I've seen. When he's on, he's the No 1, 2 or 3 player
in the world. Marat is tough to play because I feel he's getting
better and better at the areas he's had slight weaknesses in.
He's more aggressive. He come to the net a lot more now. I think
he's becoming a more all-court player. It's just really tough
to find too many weaknesses in his game."
That's because the weaknesses aren't in Safin's game; they're
in his head. And until he decides to put it all on the line,
he'll only be the ultimate singles player OFF the court. Will
Safin one day regret his profligate ways? "Who knows,"
says Newcombe, "whether he'll stay an up-and-down guy,
or whether he'll put his head down for four years to see what
he can achieve. He himself probably doesn't know the answer."
Give it a go, Marat. More success in the Slams would mean even
more love from the fans. And, even better, they'll respect you
the next day.
( thanks to Emily for typing it :-) )
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