Safin is finally playing qualifiers!

Will Safin lose in the qualifiers?

  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .
edmondsm said:
Not bad at all. He's got a great shot at beating Berdych I think. Maybe Marat makes a run here......wouldn't that be sweet.
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Sure, it would be great. But the moment people start expecting things from him, he seems to cave under the pressure. He seems to do well against a lot of the younger fellows on tour, because a lot of them like a more rhythmic style of play too, and he can handle that usually. But it is the older, craftier players that often knock him out.
 
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Good chance against Berdych whom he just beat in 5 sets and on clay. He does that, I think he will lose to Moya who is really playing well right now.
 
cucio said:
The guy is a great has-been, good looking and a complete clown on court when he works himself into a tantrum, which is more often than not due to the huge difference between his expectations and his actual capabilities. Unfortunately that sells more tickets than good tennis.

You have also the off chance that your tourney will be the one that heralds the comeback of the great Safin if he manages to get his act together.

All in all, it is not so strange that tourney managers consider him for a WC, is it? :confused:
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I am not sure about the has-been part. He is not finished yet. And, yes, he could come back in this tournament, or the next, or the next. Having played in the qualies, a former world #1, should tell you that he is not giving up.

I also don't find it strange that tourney managers are happy to include one of the most popular tennis stars of today. Just go to a tournament where he is playing and watch the crowd. He is something special to the fans and a great credit to any tournament where he plays.
 
I was impressed by Moya's ability to play the pressure points calmly in the last round. Facing break points didn't appear to phase him. Then all of a sudden he threw his racquet and choked away his first opportunities to take the match.

If Safin hits hard and controlled, as he did today, I see him coming through. There were faaar fewer unforced errors than the 2007 model, and it is encouraging that he is still working hard. He only made round 2 or 3 at the AO but appeared to be playing better there also.
 
edmondsm said:
Yeah Safin has turned into a giant pathetic tool. Not willing to earn his keep anymore, he has sunken to accepting handouts from tourney directors to prolong his sputtering career. Hopefully he drops far enough so that he doesn't make direct entry in RG and Wimbledon. I don't think he will get a wild card into those, at least not Wimby.
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Oh, come on! Yes, its sad that he can't pull his game together but he has real guts to keep coming back over and over after a failure. I don't know how many of us could do that. Think about it, he is a great star who is struggling with a god given talent. Its still a bit early to judge whether he can come back. But he is a long way from being gone.
 
Leublu tennis said:
Oh, come on! Yes, its sad that he can't pull his game together but he has real guts to keep coming back over and over after a failure. I don't know how many of us could do that. Think about it, he is a great star who is struggling with a god given talent. Its still a bit early to judge whether he can come back. But he is a long way from being gone.
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I'm just being inflammatory. I actually like Safin, but have gotten really annoyed with how much attention he gets on this board. Especially when he's getting schooled week in and week out. Breaking rackets isn't that interesting is it? Once you've seen Marat implode and take it out on the equipment you don't really need to see it again do you? I'm glad to see that Safin has put some wins together, it's about time he justified getting WC's all spring.

Edit: And this just goes to show you that he should have been playing the qualies all along. Plays the qualies, wins some matches. Maybe the tournament directors will take note.
 
fps said:
I was impressed by Moya's ability to play the pressure points calmly in the last round. Facing break points didn't appear to phase him. Then all of a sudden he threw his racquet and choked away his first opportunities to take the match.

If Safin hits hard and controlled, as he did today, I see him coming through. There were faaar fewer unforced errors than the 2007 model, and it is encouraging that he is still working hard. He only made round 2 or 3 at the AO but appeared to be playing better there also.
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This is Safin's real big chance. He hasn't been beyond 3d round since Las Vegas in Feb 2007.
 
Leublu tennis said:
This is Safin's real big chance. He hasn't been beyond 3d round since Las Vegas in Feb 2007.
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And this is also a masters, not just any tournament. If he beats Carlos Moya, he'll really face a top ranked player, and we'll see how he fetches with that. It'd be amazing if he gets to the semis or finals.
 
SikSerb said:
And this is also a masters, not just any tournament. If he beats Carlos Moya, he'll really face a top ranked player, and we'll see how he fetches with that. It'd be amazing if he gets to the semis or finals.
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He has recently beaten real top players. I mean Berdych is something like 11 or 12 and Ferrero was 20, I think. You don't get much better players, until you go into the top 3 or 4.
 
edmondsm said:
I'm just being inflammatory. I actually like Safin, but have gotten really annoyed with how much attention he gets on this board. Especially when he's getting schooled week in and week out. Breaking rackets isn't that interesting is it? Once you've seen Marat implode and take it out on the equipment you don't really need to see it again do you? I'm glad to see that Safin has put some wins together, it's about time he justified getting WC's all spring.

Edit: And this just goes to show you that he should have been playing the qualies all along. Plays the qualies, wins some matches. Maybe the tournament directors will take note.
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O.K. O.K. He gets a lot of attention because he deserves a lot of attention. He is a true star. A falling star perhaps, but a true star. Just watch the fans at a tennis tournament. The vast majority of players ranked near the bottom of top 100 are not even recognized by the fans. They can sit in the stadium and only experts can tell who they are. Just see what happens when Safin walks over for his warmups. Its pandemonium.
 
Safin can easily break into any tournament out of nowhere. The 2004 Australian Open he went through a murderous draw to reach the final that year. He came in unseeded, and alot of people expected him to just drop off the face of the planet following his 2003 season where he was riddled with injuries.


People seem to forget that Safin is a pretty good clay court player, and this clay really suits his style. He has made the semis of the FO, and has pretty good results on the clay, losing twice in the finals here to a prime Kuerten and Federer.
 
NamRanger said:
He has made the semis of the FO, and has pretty good results on the clay, losing twice in the finals here to a prime Kuerten and Federer.
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2002 was not a prime Federer at all. He would not crack the top 5 that year or make it past the round of 16 of a slam. Still I see your point.
 
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