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11.22.2002
Here is the translation of the article taken from the French
sport Newspaper "L'equipe".
translated by Josee.
article by Louis Doucet
Marat Safin, elusive and mysterious, is not only the smashing
racket man we see on courts. When we listen to his friends,
his inconsistency and his impulsivity are also a way of life.
A way to put his international tennis star status in perspective.
His manager, Gerard Tsobodian, his ex-coach Marc Rosset and
one of his friend Arnaud Casagrande, expresses their feelings
about Marat Safin's personality, in which they see appearing
a slavic soul (l'ame slave).
Gerard Tsobodian: �He doesn't even want to plan his day�.
Marat's temperament is easy to tame?
I'm in a great position with that aspect because I have collaborate
for 10 years with Goran Ivanisevic. When a character like Marat
comes along, it's a feeling of deja vu and I'm able to manage
it. Especially as they are boys who are totally different on
the court and in their private life. They are a lot less crazy
and unpredictable. The key was to understand the situation they
are in and sometimes, to put myself in their place. They are
young people who comes from countries where conditions were
not easy when they grew up. That explains a lot about their
impulsions, their needs, their desires. In my opinion,this is
one charactristic of the slavic soul. They have hot blood and
sometimes, they hit the wall and after, they realize that we
had warned them.
When it comes to business and money, is he very directive?
He has total faith in me but he likes to be inform and he should
be. Even though he doesn't want to go through details, I make
him realized that it's his money, he has worked hard to earn
it and that's important for him to understand all that. Because
when he will retire, he will have to manage his life and his
money.
Is it the kind of questions he's asking you about?
Yes and recently, he asked me about different possibilities
that could be presented to him in the future. Earnings from
stock market are not what they used to be. So he asked me :
�Gerard, which investments are you and Ion Tiriac are suggesting
me, which alternatives I have?�
Is Ion Tiriac a model for Safin?
I think he's a model for a lot of tennis player. He has a good
reputation because he has made his mark on the sport, after
bringing Boris Becker to the top but also on business, especially
in Romania. Every time Marat or other players talk to me about
him, it's � What does he do? How much money he makes? �
Safin looks like he put his career in the second place...
I think it's a way for him to be professional. It's mostly a
way to take off pressure. He avoids to talk about concrete subjets
like � which tournament you want to play next year or how to
reach the number one position in the world �. Of course, he's
ambitious and he wants to play tennis but he doesn't want anything
that resemble a career plan. He doesn't even want to plan his
day!
Marc Rosset: � I was like him at his age �.
Is it more easy to be Safin's friend or Safin's coach?
Friend. But anyway, you have to be his friend to work with him.
Besides,that goes for a lot of players. To go through all year
with somebody, it's almost essential to count on that friendship.
Marat is calm, reserved and discreet. He's not always open with
everybody, which maybe gives him a recluse side. But his explosion
and smashed rackets are normal. Frustration builds up from match
and tournament and when you are a little bit impulsive, inevitably
there are excesses.
In training, what kind of student he is?
Mostly, he has to believe in what we are telling him. He won't
do anything he doesn't want to do. He has opinions and a strong
personality which he rely on. When you become famous, everybody
wants to give you advice, to get involve in your life and to
tell you what to do. But, at 21, you need to make your own proof,
to build your own experiences. Personally, I was like him at
that age.
Recently, did you talk with him about Davis Cup?
He dislike talking about tennis, he's not a tennis fan and neither
am I. He has a lot of interests, he likes to read a lot. So,
when we step out of the court, we talk about other things. If
I compare him to other players I know, Federer for example is
much more in love with tennis than Safin out of the court.
Arnaud Casagrande: � He needs those up and down �.
Marat Safin's character is always as turbulent as it is on the
court?
For me, Marat is a �circuit friend�. He lives his life between
Moscow and Geneva and me, I live in Paris. But when we are in
tournaments, we spend a lot of time together. He's an interesting
and engaging character because he's at the same time �head or
tails�. He can give everything when he likes somebody, be very
generous and do everything for this person. But in the same
time, he's 21 years old, he has lots of money and enjoy partying.
So, he's not always serious. It's normal, he wants to enjoy
his life.
Is it uncommon to enjoy having parties in tennis world?
No. There is a night life on the tour. We are not in bed at
9 h 30 watching a late nignt show on TV5! But Marat is able
to sleep late before the day of his match as long as he can
get up late. He can move forward his day like that. It's another
philosophy and I like it. It's very rare that he loose a match
because he is tired from a late night out. The risk is more
about his mental fatigue... to blow fuses. When he's irritated,
he really is.
Instead of this, he has an engaging side that seems to make
unaminity...
It's his russian side. I know 4 or 5 russian and they are a
lot like him. When you become part of their circle, they are
really with you, there is an immediate trust. It doesn't matter
that I take care of Nico, the competition doesn't exist anymore.
The state of mind is: � You're a friend. Period. � It's really
honest.
Does he brood during difficult periods?
He asked himself a lot of questions and this is why his off-peak
periods can last a long time. But he needs those up and down.
He makes them work for him, more that a linear journey would
do. Everybody has different objective. For him, it's to enjoy
his life because he knows that he only has one.
Does he often talk about Davis Cup?
No, he takes one thing at a time. Of course, this competition
has a special meaning for him. It's important and close to his
heart and mostly for Kafelnikov. But Marat is a true professionnal.
But I didn't start any conversation with him about Davis Cup,
even since we know that this final will take place. He never
talked about it once.
www.lequipe.com
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