Marat Safin: Nadal more impressive than Federer

kOaMaster said:
Safin never really liked Federer and vice versa I assume ;)
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hmm I never got that impression before. That generation seemed to get along well and fed always spoke fondly of safin and vice versa and they would always joke around. I don't necessarily agree with Safin though he is somewhat complimenting both although somewhat backhanded towards nadal imo. I pretty much agree with nikdom in that this idea of fed only being talent and nadal only being hard work is ridiculous
 
tennisaddict said:
''Federer brought new things into tennis. The way he plays, his skills, he has an all-around game, just a beautiful tennis. He upgraded the level of tennis so the new generation grew up on this level. The rising stars have better shots, are more physical, more skills. Kyrgios plays so powerful and Nishikori is very good'. Safin said that tennis is more physical now.

This is from 2016.

Safin has always been cognizant of what Fed brings to the table - skills and talent that are unparalleled in tennis history.

Safin is also amazed how a grinder like Rafa has been able to keep the gap close to Fed within a tier.
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Exactly this. He's amazed as to how someone like Nadal can hang with a much more talented player in Federer.
 
Safin probably thinks of Roger like a rich kid who had everything to be a success, and Nadal a working class hero who with his hard work and determination rose to the top.
 
Backspin1183 said:
Safin probably thinks of Roger like a rich kid who had everything to be a success, and Nadal a working class hero who with his hard work and determination rose to the top.
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Safin thinks that Federer is much more talented than Nadal has ever been. He's surprised that someone as relatively talentless as Nadal could accomplish as much as he did.
 
Mr Feeny said:
If he values grit, then to him maybe it does. To most people,it doesn't. We value skill, talent, and grace. To each his own.
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Safin is a hall of famer and he thinks that Nadal is a more impressive player than Federer. His words, not mine.
Thanks.
 
Nadal certainly been the best player of 2017 and therefore most impressive this year. Not sure if Safin is referring to this year or career wise as over a career to do what both are doing is equally impressive.
 
Backspin1183 said:
Safin is a hall of famer and he thinks that Nadal is a more impressive player than Federer. His words, not mine.
Thanks.
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Safin is a guy who values grit and considers it more impr3ssive than talent? Yes, thats not difficult to deduce for anyone with more than 5 brain cells.

Safin thinks that Federer is more talented than Nadal ever was? Absolutely.
 
Surprising from Marat. Nadal might just be the most talented player ever. Can pull off the sort of shots that no-one else can when out of position, and easily the best net player of the 21st Century. Federer's achievements have been absolutely unbelievable considering he's pretty much an absolute workhorse out there. He's like a poor man's Santoro - though he does have an elite serve. Surviving on junkballing and servebotting is no joke at all, incredibly impressive.
 
Skylar said:
Nadal certainly been the best player of 2017 and therefore most impressive this year. Not sure if Safin is referring to this year or career wise as over a career to do what both are doing is equally impressive.
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That's been beaten to death. The majority of tennis fans both on here and on the "other site" think that Federer has been the best player this year. Ye#1 isn't the same thing as being the best player. Federer won a higher percentage of the tournaments he competed. Let's not derail the thread, though. If yo7 want to believe that Nadal has been the best player this year, then by all means go ahead, if that makes you feel better.

As far as careers go, one is the consensus GOAT. The other is not. They'e both impressive, but they certainly aren't "equally impressive.
 
Mr Feeny said:
That's been beaten to death. The majority of tennis fans both on here and on the "other site" think that Federer has been the best player this year. Ye#1 isn't the same thing as being the best player. Federer won a higher percentage of the tournaments he competed. Let's not derail the thread, though. If yo7 want to believe that Nadal has been the best player this year, then by all means go ahead, if that makes you feel better.

As far as careers go, one is the consensus GOAT. The other is not. They'e both impressive, but they certainly aren't "equally impressive.
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Off topic? Safin I assume is referring to 2017. Sorry what other site? From what I've read Savin prefers Federer so I can't believe he is talking about their careers, this might have been lost in translation but I'd think Safin is talking about 2017. YE1 is always the most impressive player that year, which is what Safinwill be referring to and what every professional player will agree with. It's not even news really.
 
Skylar said:
Off topic? Safin I assume is referring to 2017. Sorry what other site? From what I've read Savin prefers Federer so I can't believe he is talking about their careers, this might have been lost in translation but I'd think Safin is talking about 2017. YE1 is always the most impressive player that year, which is what Safinwill be referring to and what every professional player will agree with. It's not even news really.
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That's not what you said,of course. You tried to say that Nadal was the best player this year. That's what I responded to. Most neutrals don't agree with that.


In any case, stick to the topic on hand please. The "best player of the 2017" vs "YE#1" has been done dozens of times in separate threads.
 
What Nadal does and has done is not possible without an insane amount of talent. In his own way, you can easily argue that Nadal is more talented than Federer (without injury, Nadal would likely have passed the 20 slam mark by now). Safin was part that generation that viewed Roger as a genius and Nadal as a dirtballing grinder in the early stages of their careers, and those perceptions are hard to let go of. Fortunately, the following generations have seen a more nuanced view and recognise that Nadal himself is also a genius.

Nadal works hard, but hard work can only get you so far if you don't have the talent. The best example of an incrediblely hard worker who maximised his potential with middling tennis talent is Llyeton Hewitt. He became no.1 and won 2 slams. That's very impressive. But a lot of that was down to hard work, hustling on court for every point and mental strenghth. Hewitt had many Nadal-like qualities, but not his talent level. Which is why there is a 14 slam difference between them.
 
The_Order said:
Hahaha I'm sure this will sit well with the Fed fans...
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The funny thing is, I'm sure you're right and some people will be affected by that. Can't see why, though.

Probably the same reason why others like you are crowing with glee. Go figure. A random guy says some random stuff so people talk about him, and it's either the end of the world or the best day of your life, depending on which side of the debate you're on. Gotta love Internet boards. :D
 
merlinpinpin said:
The funny thing is, I'm sure you're right and some people will be affected by that. Can't see why, though.

Probably the same reason why others like you are crowing with glee. Go figure. A random guy says some random stuff so people talk about him, and it's either the end of the world or the best day of your life, depending on which side of the debate you're on. Gotta love Internet boards. :D
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Sad, isn't it?
 
Mr Feeny said:
That's not what you said,of course. You tried to say that Nadal was the best player this year. That's what I responded to. Most neutrals don't agree with that.


In any case, stick to the topic on hand please. The "best player of the 2017" vs "YE#1" has been done dozens of times in separate threads.
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Nadal was the best player this year as all the experts I have heard have said and continue to say and my point is that is what is Safin is saying, not talking about who has been more impressive career wise. You seem very bitter.

Safin is merely expressing an opinion. I'm sure it is referring to 2017.
 
Skylar said:
Off topic? Safin I assume is referring to 2017. Sorry what other site? From what I've read Savin prefers Federer so I can't believe he is talking about their careers, this might have been lost in translation but I'd think Safin is talking about 2017. YE1 is always the most impressive player that year, which is what Safinwill be referring to and what every professional player will agree with. It's not even news really.
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Yes.I saw this article on twitter days ago, and it was referring to 2017. I didn't read the article in the OP, so I don't know. But there are so many click bait articles and websites these days it's hard to keep up.:(
 
Skylar said:
Nadal was the best player this year as all the experts I have heard have said and continue to say and my point is that is what is Safin is saying, not talking about who has been more impressive career wise. You seem very bitter.

Safin is merely expressing an opinion. I'm sure it is referring to 2017.
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What about the BBC? They nominated Federer as the international sports personality of the year not Nadal. So it's not true that all experts or everyone. Anyway...
 
Skylar said:
Nadal was the best player this year as all the experts I have heard have said and continue to say and my point is that is what is Safin is saying, not talking about who has been more impressive career wise. You seem very bitter.

Safin is merely expressing an opinion. I'm sure it is referring to 2017.
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"All the experts" certainly haven' said that. Being yec #1 is one thing . Being the best player is something else.
Now, for the last time,stop derailing the thread. If you want to argue that point, go ahead in the threads that already exist.

I don't expect to have to repeat somethikg this simple 5 times for you to grasp it. Stick to the topic on hand.
 
i tend to agree with the spirit of Mr. Safin's comments. Fed is, for me, the more beautiful player to watch - but i enjoy them
both immensely for different reasons. and it's a particular pleasure when they play each other. i hope we haven't seen the
last of it.
 
Steve0904 said:
Maybe so, but I always find that this is grossly overstated on TTW. Everybody that rates Safin (usually to a ridiculous degree) uses AO 2005 as some kind of barometer for the challenge that Safin could've would've should've presented to Federer, but Federer really should've won that match if you look back on a few crucial points that on most days Federer would win. Not only that, he was better on clay, so much better on grass, and in all likelihood would've been better at the USO even against this mythical motivated Safin. To be clear, this isn't an attack on you.

I'm not denying that Safin wasted most of his talent, but outrageous speculations that he would've been a double digit slam winner (sometimes seen around here) or taken a bunch away from Federer are just crazy speculations that nostalgic people use to overrate him in the first place. Guys like Nadal and Djokovic are more talented (especially in the all around sense) than Safin IMO. For example, both of them are faster, both are mentally tougher, and both have more stamina than Safin for starters. Two of them have a better FH (yes two of them) and Djokovic's BH is certainly in the same ballpark (with Nadal's usually being underrated) Djokovic might also have a better serve, and Nadal's serving is pretty good when he locks it in.

The reason I'm comparing the 3 being that the people that talk up Safin here will often say he's more "naturally talented" than both, which obviously I'm taking issue with. Again, I don't deny that Safin wasted a fair amount of talent by not working hard, but the extent that some on this site go with their predictions are far fetched to say the least.
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Safin is absolutely one of the most talented players I've seen. Federer is the only player I can say who is for sure more naturally gifted. 2005 AO could have never happened and I would still think that just based on watching him and his feel for the ball+physical gifts. What 2005 AO did show is that when he was focused he had the mentality(and stamina) to win slams and be a consistent contender. 2005 AO was the product of the work he had put in with Lundgren at the end of 2004, perhaps the first time in his career he was seriously dedicated. Unfortunately he got injured shortly thereafter. Although I don't think he ever had the mentality to actually dedicate himself for years on end.
 
Backspin1183 said:
He said it. Nadal more epic than Federer.
@MichaelNadal


Marat Safin believes Rafael Nadal is a more impressive tennis player than Roger Federer because of how much harder he has to work than the 19-time Grand Slam champion.

The former world No. 1 has watched on as the legendary duo topped the rankings once more in 2017 – having split all four majors between them – but remains more astounded by Nadal’s achievements.

Safin believes Federer’s career is built upon outrageous natural talent, while Nadal has been forced to fight for everything in his career.

https://www.google.co.in/amp/metro....re-impressive-than-roger-federer-7110944/amp/
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Lazy analysis by Safin.
Not getting tired isn't considered a talent? Being super fast ain't a talent? Having hands as good as Rafa ain't a talent? Being able to implement more topspin than pretty much any other player ain't a talent? He's sweating more, hence his working harder and is more impressive? Gimmie a break (and this from a Safin fan).

‘The latter had everything to be successful, while Nadal is a true wrestler and worker. He’s sweating more and does not get tired'.

When Fed isn't at his best physical, his game suffers. When Rafa isn't at his best physical, his game suffers. Neither can just rely on physical gifts or outrageous feel for the ball/good hands/talent.
 
tennisaddict said:
Safin like Federer has talent in plenty . What Safin lacks is the ability to grit and grind like Rafa

Hence he is impressed with Rafa's workman like culture . What part of this are you failing to grasp ?
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this is probably it yes - though Rafa has plenty of talent too.
 
Mainad said:
Like many politicians, he probably should have just stuck to what he was good at! ;)
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I don't see why he shouldn't branch out into other areas that interest him. After all, being known as Saint Marat The Perfect surely means he can do anything, no? :)
 
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