Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
Thread OP is completely correct, but most reasonable people already believe this. Trolls are just gonna keep trolling.
Demolishing the rubbish myth of Safin playing well in only 2 tournaments
- Thread starter abmk
- Start date
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PETEhammer
Guest
A man who eats such creatures for dinner is not to be trifled with...
Biotic
Hall of Fame
Well yeah, but Coria lost for different (sport related) reasons. Can't imagine any top 10 player today getting drunk on the eve of the final and bringing 3 "ladies" along.
AnOctorokForDinner
Talk Tennis Guru
Level-wise Gaudio was better actually I think, he did destroy Hewitt and Nalbandian en route while TJ went 5 with J Novak in SF. I used to say Johansson was the worst real slam winner in OE, dummy AOs aside, but now Thiem rivals him with that pathetic USO final lol.
abmk
Bionic Poster
I already responded with the example of Wim 08 SF.
The 2nd part is the joke being on you. shows your utter saltiness+cluelessness, boy.
If we're just considering good as the level and in slams ->
AO 04 Hewitt/Nalby (&even Ferrero played well)
RG 04 Guga
Wim 04 Hewitt/Roddick
USO 04 Agassi
AO 05 Safin (&even Agassi played some good ball, though not great)
RG 05 Nadal
Wim 05 Hewitt
USO 05 Hewitt&Agassi
AO 06 Davy, Haas (&even Baggy)
RG 06 Nadal
Wim 06 Ancic/Nadal
USO 06 Blake/Roddick
AO 07 Gonzo
RG 07 Davy/Nadal
Wim 07 Nadal
USO 07 Lopez, Roddick, Davy, Djoko
Safin showed how it is done to Djokovic in Wim 08, LMAO. atleast guga was 3 time RG champion rolling back the years and playing very well to take out fed.
I have no problem admitting 2006 was relatively weak/weak however you want to term it (Safin gone, Agassi gone, Hewitt off his prime and Roddick in a slump in 1st half, Djokovic not yet in).. Its just when people bunch in years like 2004,05 and 07 as weak that I call out the BS.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Well, Johnasson did win a masters, reached another slam semi (where he dropped only one set en route) and another 2 slam quarters. I'd say he's not the worst, but fair enough.
He did get lucky with his side of the draw at the 2002 AO though. He doesn't even reach the final if he is placed on the other side that was packed with Federer, Haas and pre-final Safin.
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AnOctorokForDinner
Talk Tennis Guru
Safin himself denies he was drunk, actually was quite taken aback at the suggestion lol. It's in a Russian interview he gave a year ago, posted somewhere on sports.ru. He did admit he had some fun and went to sleep after 3 am, which had an obvious effect.
AnOctorokForDinner
Talk Tennis Guru
You better behave, or else I will BUUUURN your FACE into the PIT.
Biotic
Hall of Fame
Well maybe he was drinking, but not enough to get drunk.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
I remember watching this at 4:00 in the morning and knowing after this point that Fed wasn't making the final:
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Man, in how many fields can you be this unprofessional and get away with it?
abmk
Bionic Poster
Thomas Johansson clearly better player than Gaudio overall no question.
Gaudio better pre-final in RG 04, but Johansson better in the final in AO 02.
Gonzo_style
Hall of Fame
Btw in that AO final Safin's lob on CP was absolutely in but I guess he would have lost anyway. That version of Safin was not ready for five sets lol
ibbi
G.O.A.T.
The problem with Safin is not that he played well in 2 tournaments (what is the point of pandering to the stupidest argument imaginable by people who - if they actually exist - obviously don't know what they're talking about?), but that he clearly had the game and the nerve to go toe to toe with the best in the world on the biggest stages on the biggest days, and he spent most of his career whizzing that potential down the drain.
The 2008 Wimbledon run actually really infuriated me, because I spent those last years of his career after the injury in 2005 thinking his physical setbacks had totally derailed him, when that run suggested that this was, in fact, probably not the case.
The 2008 Wimbledon run actually really infuriated me, because I spent those last years of his career after the injury in 2005 thinking his physical setbacks had totally derailed him, when that run suggested that this was, in fact, probably not the case.
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Deleted member 22147
Guest
Safin is the most successful player with the sort of injury record he had.
2000, 2002 and 2004 only injury free seasons. 2005 knee injury ended him. Never won a title after 2005 AO and only reached one final in Moscow in 2008.
2003 could have been a great year for him but fell on his wrist at the AO - the man he had to withdraw against went on to reach the final in Schuettler.
He was not the same Safin from 2006 onward, but still played in some dramatic matches as a shadow.
2000, 2002 and 2004 only injury free seasons. 2005 knee injury ended him. Never won a title after 2005 AO and only reached one final in Moscow in 2008.
2003 could have been a great year for him but fell on his wrist at the AO - the man he had to withdraw against went on to reach the final in Schuettler.
He was not the same Safin from 2006 onward, but still played in some dramatic matches as a shadow.
D
Deleted member 22147
Guest
Safin was quite literally shagged from all the women in his box.
If it hadn't rained vs Haas he would have lost in SF. But Haas had a nap during the rain delay and came out cold and Safin thumped him. Months later Haas' parents ended up in a motorcycle accident and he took the year off to help them recover.
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PETEhammer
Guest
Thank you. OP is straw manning for responses/likes
AnOctorokForDinner
Talk Tennis Guru
I guess quite a lot actually, as long as you don't need to look dandy and are highly competent so you can perform decently even on autopilot. A sleep-deprived top player can still beat most guys - actually Djokovic-Simon is a shining example as Djokovic reportedly stayed up at night to watch Serbian polo or something. However, it was definitely an amazing blend of arrogance and stupidity to come unprepared for a slam final. Safin must have thought Johansson was so weak he could win even while sleepwalking, lol. Yeah no, TJ packed enough punch to move Safin around and Sleepfin was too slow.
abmk
Bionic Poster
eh, 1 or 2 runs here and there don't prove what you are saying.
Kuerten also had that run in RG 04 (incl. beating Fed). doesn't mean injuries didn't affect him significantly from 2002 onwards.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
One great run from him didn't change his overall issues after 2005. The stars just aligned for one last great run where he rolled back the years on grass of all surfaces.
Safin's other main issue was getting some really tough draws like USO 2006 (Nalbandian and Haas before QF), AO 2007 (Roddick in R3) and Wimb 2007 (Federer in R2 or R3) among others.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Biotic
Hall of Fame
Whateva and lol at good matches list...
... It does not matter if this or that year was weak or not. What matters is that in your numerous posts and threads you re implying that if:
strength of the field in a random Fed's prime year > strength of the field in a random Novak's prime year
means
Fed had it tougher, therefore Fed>Djoker,
while in fact all of that god tier depth competition hardly ever gave him a real fight, (for this reason or another which is irrelevant). Not to mention deliberate choice of years 2004-2014, 2005-2015 etc).
So, yeah, your drivel is obviously malicious and agenda driven and not to be taken seriously.
NoleIsBoat
Hall of Fame
ROFL
ibbi
G.O.A.T.
Well, I'm not saying it's definitive, just that it seems likely. Kuerten had hip surgery, which has totally derailed the careers of numerous tennis players for the last 20 years. From 2002 on he missed chunks of time all over the shop and was barely winning matches at the top level. Safin from 2006-09 played near enough a full schedule. Kuerten's last miracle run was also on his favourite surface, not his least favourite where Safin barely had a winning record prior to that 08 run.
ibbi
G.O.A.T.
Hey, I'm not denying the guys physical problems, obviously he had them all his career, I just no longer bought that the 'shadow of his former self' argument was purely a physical thing. Hewitt had surgery on BOTH his hips by like the age that Safin retired, he was barely playing tennis those last years, and his twilight period still had way more highlights than Safin's did.
D
Deleted member 22147
Guest
The match against Haas at the US Open was sickening. The one against Roddick even worse because it was Roddick. Safin barely got past Becker and Sela in 5 each and after he won the second set 6-2 I thought he had a great chance and he let up. He was incredibly slow in that match and 2007 was the worst tennis he played in his career. Safin of 2002, 2003, 2004 or 2005 kills that Roddick.
The most painful year as a fan was 2009, though, because of the Masters Series mainly. He really fought his heart out in many matches that year.
IW - outplayed by Isner, didn't have much of a problem with that.
Miami - Had to beat Monfils to play Roddick in next round. Safin battled to match point in third, missed a forehand clean winner by about 2mm. Monfils behaving like a jackass throughout. I think he lost another MP, too. Wanted it too much.
Monte Carlo - Match against Lapentti was ridiculous. Third set lost in tie break after having battled like crazy to get back into the match, managed to lose.
Rome - Another choke against Robredo. Tight 3 setter.
Madrid - beaten comprehensively by Tsonga who rushed the slow Safin. Fine.
Canada - Lost to Monfils again in 3 set epic. Another match should've won.
Cincinnati - Cruising against Stepanek, but was a very hot day and I think Safin just wanted off the court.
Shanghai - Choked vs Berdych after Berdych took MTO, started running like a rabbit again. Refused to shake hands.
Bercy - Physically dead vs del Potro. Already body in retirement mode and nearly lost against Ascione who was fat and basically retired himself. Still saved face vs del Potro.
The Ouanna match at RG was also a sickening 5 set loss. I was present at the Wimbledon loss vs Levine where he was screwed by line judge from clean backhand down the line winner that would've gave him set point...
As a fan 2004 AO is my favourite Safin event. Because it was the year his fans knew he was back for good (at least for a while) after 2003 disaster. Beat 5 Americans in the event. Vahaly, Martin, Blake, Roddick and Agassi (other was Nieminen).
That's my blabbering.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
I think Safin in 2009 probably had a moment of "you don't know how much you'll miss it unless it's gone".
fundrazer
G.O.A.T.
As someone who likes Gaudio, always makes me laugh when he gets labeled worst slam winner. Dunno if I'd disagree though 
Also for anybody who hasn't watched highlights of the Safin Haas 2002 AO match, just go do it. That's the source of my favorite tennis gif that I post all the time. Pretty high quality stuff in that one I think.
Also for anybody who hasn't watched highlights of the Safin Haas 2002 AO match, just go do it. That's the source of my favorite tennis gif that I post all the time. Pretty high quality stuff in that one I think.
metsman
G.O.A.T.
gaudio and johansson were easily playing well enough to beat Zverev and co.
metsman
G.O.A.T.
i mean obviously he wasn't drunk IN the final lmao, but he definitely woke up with a hangover and likely even further drained of fluids and such...
01-02 Safin mugged pretty much every big slam match he played besides 01 Wimbledon probably lol.
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
2002 AO final was probably the biggest meme of a final till the 2020 USO.
Hangover Safin and One-Slam Wonder Johansson sound like nicknames 90’s Clay would come up with but they’re 100% true lol.
Hangover Safin and One-Slam Wonder Johansson sound like nicknames 90’s Clay would come up with but they’re 100% true lol.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Wasn't RG 2004 a meme final in between as well?
RelentlessAttack
Hall of Fame
Safin OWNS little Rios in Canada 2002
Two of the most eccentric players on tour put on 3 set show for the Canadian crowd at the 2002 Toronto Masters Series.www.youtube.com
Did Safin even have any weaknesses beyond his mental strength? Massive serve, ATG BH, underrated FH with plenty of attacking power, beast at the net, best mover I've ever seen for his height.
not quite as fast as the big three. In the era of poly and defense above all, that is a weakness. But otherwise yeah he has a complete ATG tier skillset. Couldn’t focus though, and then did stupid things like losing the 2002 Australian open because he was busy partying the night before
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
RG 2004 was just tragic. Not gonna call an injury-marred match a meme final. But you can if you want.
RelentlessAttack
Hall of Fame
in 2008 he said “thank you to whoever has been slowing down the grass“ when asked about his success at Wimbledon.
Djokovic was in pretty good grass form at the time. He had just played that epic match against Nadal at Queens.
Safin is a lot like Stan, His ideals surface is a mid paste, mid bounce. Gives him time to set up his strokes and use his power advantage vs the field, but not so slow that he can’t get through the court.
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
lmao he said that? mad lad
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Haas was underrated as a player. Who knows how he would have done without his injury troubles.As someone who likes Gaudio, always makes me laugh when he gets labeled worst slam winner. Dunno if I'd disagree though
Also for anybody who hasn't watched highlights of the Safin Haas 2002 AO match, just go do it. That's the source of my favorite tennis gif that I post all the time. Pretty high quality stuff in that one I think.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
He was the mad lad before it became popular.
abmk
Bionic Poster
you said "Guy A was great, guy B was even better, and so on, while in reality the number of good matches they gave him over those 4 years is lolworthy."
I give the list of good matches, not small at all and your answer is lol at good matches list?
because you don't know sh*t about those years, yes, I repeat, you don't know sh*t about those years/matches to comment about them in detail properly.
I never said it was god tier depth, just pretty good depth. there were good fights in many of those matches. just that your mendacious propaganda prevents you from seeing it. just because fed was too good in some of those doesn't mean otherwise.
you are just plainly butthurt because I exposed your BS propaganda.
the choice of years was because BSers like you and many others say 2004, 2005 were weak years. But that went above your head or you are pretending it did.
I have the years from 2004-16 as something like this:
2009 > 2012 > 2011 ~ 2007 ~ 2008 > 2005 >~ 2004 > 2013 > 2014 > 2006~2015~2010 > 2016
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abmk
Bionic Poster
yes and no. Safin has played some stellar tennis on faster HCs at a level that Stan simply hasn't.
Nothing Stan has done on a faster surface comes close to Safin of USO 2000 final.
Safin also has 4 masters on faster HCs - 3 Paris, 1 Madrid.
Safin's swings are shorter and shots flatter helping him on the faster HCs compared to Stan. Stan's swings are longer and shots are more topspiny/heavier helping him more on clay compared to Safin.
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abmk
Bionic Poster
I did mention the 00 one (he beat both Norman and Ferrero there). not sure how good Ferrero was in 05 tbh - maybe I should check.
metsman
G.O.A.T.
the 2nd one was 03
abmk
Bionic Poster
abmk
Bionic Poster
because the main aim was to talk about Safin. as part of fed's competition was secondary. I'm not going to be dishonest and deny it wasn't part of the aim, but the bigger aim was about Safin himself.
too foreign a concept for you?
RelentlessAttack
Hall of Fame
Hitman
Bionic Poster
Who says he basically only played well in two tournaments though?
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Most trolls who obviously want to trash Federer's competition.
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