The Wrap: Week of OCT. 11-17 Safin Launches on Other Players; Golovin Done?
By Matthew Cronin
Anne-Marie Stark Safin's
last yuear has been horrid.WEDNESDAY,
OCT. 14 - The major Shanghai surprise this week has been just how bold
some of the men have been in their statements this week. How about Marat
Safin, who is always outspoken, taking on the rest of the stars for complaining
about the length of the season?
This is the same Marat Safin who for most of the past two years, has taken
one substantial guarantee after another and proceeded to lose early. He’s
lost in the first round 10 times this year and is 14-19 on the season.
Given his talent level, the 29-year-old’s final year on tour has
been borderline disgraceful. He’s reached all of two quarterfinals
in ’09 and did nothing of note at any of the significant events.
Yes, he can be a delightful guy and is full of life off court, but does
anyone want to watch him on court anymore given how slow he is and how
uninspiring his play has been. I certainly don’t.
So here's Safin reacting to Andy Roddick and Rafa Nadal’s comments
that the ATP should continue to work to reduce the length of the season
or risk shortening the careers of its top players.
"In 2004 we had this discussion in Olympic Games with Roddick about
it and they were blaming me that I'm playing too much," said former
world number one Safin And I was saying that the season is too long. We
should make it shorter. And the guys, they jumped on me, like I was the
one who was wrong. So look at all of them -- everybody is falling apart.
Everybody is getting injured left and right, and everybody is complaining
the season is long. It takes six years to realize that something is wrong?
They just have to deal with that, not when they are 21 and ambitious and
want to make money. They have to think a little bit with their brains
and to make the career a little bit longer."
And what did Safin did to lengthen the quality of career? Largely, he
took small tournament’s money and ran, sometimes showed up and played
a heroic role in Davis Cup and stood up fairly tall at the Moscow tournament,
reaching the finals in 2006 and 2008, which by the way, are the last two
finals he’s reached since winning the Aussie Open in 2005 –
his last admirable year. He should have had knee surgery to lengthen the
quality of his career, but chose not to and instead, his career will grind
to a screeching, ear-piercing halt in a few weeks time.
Without question, he’s been one of the tour’s great characters
over the past decade, but most of his fellow players believe that the
reason why he played so many events was simply to pick up another paycheck,
which is likely why they were critical of him back in 2004.
Safin wasn’t done there. No, before he went after Roddick et al,
he took some cracks at his opponent Tomas Berdych, who he believed feigned
injury during his 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over him. Safin refused to shake Berdych's
hand after the match because the Czech called the trainer to treat his
knee.
"Just come on; just grow up a little bit; 26 years old; just deal
with that," he said. "If you're losing, just be a man; be a
man and lose as a man, Don't pretend that you are injured and then you
start running around and start to hit winners and then all of a sudden
you pull the hands up in the air after winning the match? So then of course
the guy will say: 'No, I've been injured but then I felt a little bit
better. Of course he will find 10,000 excuses. Still, it's not enough.
You're playing or you're not playing. If you're playing, so just shut...up
and play."
That’s what Rafa Nadal and James Blake did in a dramatic 6-2, 6-7,
6-4 victory for the Spaniard. Nadal also beat Blake in three sets in Beijing
last week. He’ll face Tommy Robredo in the next round.
USO champion Juan Martin Del Potro joined the disabled list when he had
to retire with a wrist injury while 7-5, 2-1 down to Jurgen Melzer. "I
had this injury in Miami this year and I don't want to risk for the end
of the season," said the 21-year-old Argentine.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bested Chinese wild card Zeng Shaoxuan 6-3, 6-3 and
will face Robin Soderling, who beat Nicolas Almagro 6-4 7-5, Ivan Ljubicic
upset Spanish seventh seed Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 7-6 throwing a wrench
into the Spaniard’s ATP Finals plan. The Croatian will meet Gael
Monfils, who put down Lleyton Hewitt 4-6, 6-4, 6-2….In a bad of
sour news, the ITF suspended Czech Ivo Minar for eight months for testing
positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine. Doesn’t look like it
helped very much.
There were no upsets in Osaka, with Doha contender Marion Bartoli, Francesca
Schiavone, Melinda Czink and Sania Mirza getting through. Win of the day
in Linz goes to another Doha contender, Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat
Monica Niculescu 6-4, 6-2. Other winners were Alexandra Dulgheru, Alize
Cornet, Petra Kvitova and Carla Suarez Navarro. Where’s she been?...The
personality-laden Tati Golovin told L’Equipe that she’s pretty
much done as she’s been diagnosed with spondylitis of the back,
similar to the alleged injury that ended another ex-Bollettieri student’s
career, Anna Kournikova.
"Do I have any chance to play again? It's not advised, but I'm still
young,” she said. “The pain may suddenly disappear. If I do
have to give up tennis, it will be for launching into humanitarian work,
to find something meaningful. Tennis was for me like a baby, who I carried
and who grows up at some time or another; you're proud of him, like I
was proud of my tennis." That, by way, doesn’t mean that she’s
actually pregnant.
Stars Go for Exo $$ Again, Hewitt Gets Political
Again, Roddick Hurt Again TUESDAY, OCT. 13 - With the top guys constantly
complaining about the length of the season (and really, this week’s
bitch session is about the Americans and Euros having to play a mandatory
event in Asia in the fall before heading over to Europe for Paris and
then London), how about the announcement that Roger Federer, Rafa
Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Verdasco
and Robin Soderling will begin the 2010 season in Abu
Dhabi by playing in a six-man, $250,000 winner-takes-all exo,
where huge guarantees are also paid out. It’s utter hypocrisy to
complain about the length of the season and then add to it by playing
exos.
This pattern has been going on for at least two decades, somewhat similar
to the pattern of constant winging by Lleyton Hewitt
when it comes to all things in Aussie tennis that don’t celebrate
his career. Now Hewitt is backing a man he used to complain about, Paul
McNamee, over Geoff Pollard in the upcoming
election for Tennis Australia president, a post that Pollard has held
for 20 years. Hewitt said he gets along with Pollard, but “I strongly
believe that change is needed at Tennis Australia and what better place
to start than right at the top!! In my opinion tennis in Australia and
the way it is being administered needs addressing, as we are falling behind
many other nations in the world, as well as other sports in our own country...
Geoff has been in this position for 20 years and I for one have to question
his strength and passion at this crucial time, when he has been the person
'in charge' whilst the sport has been declining into its current position.
Paul McNamee, on the other hand, I believe has the attributes needed to
change things around."
This is the same Hewitt who has complained about the Aussie Open’s
court speed, Davis Cup selections, scheduling of matches, choice of coaches,
the TA’s lack of support for him, and on and on into eternity. It’s
nice to see a player having actual opinions about his sport and how well
its doing in his nation, but it isn't out of the realm of possibility
had Hewitt been a slightly better role model over the years that more
Aussie kids would have picked up rackets. McNamee also has the support
of former player and announcer John Alexander who told
the Australian: "I'm delighted that Paul is interested in the presidency.
I think his contribution in making the Australian Open the best of the
Grand Slams and his organization of the Hopman Cup has been outstanding.
This is a time where tennis in Australia is in crisis and we need dynamic
leadership and we need someone who cares about the sport, someone who
is passionate." The election will be held on Monday. Pollard has
been unchallenged since succeeding Brian Tobin in 1989.
Speaking of Hewitt, he took down John Isner at Shanghai on Tuesday, while
Andy Roddick suffered a knee injury and forced to retire against Stan
Wawrinka. That makes the US’s top player 0-2 in Asia and if he’s
unable to recover to play at the last the Paris Indoors, his spot in the
YEC in London could be at risk "Trust me, as frustrated as (the fans)
are that we're not here, I promise you we're more frustrated," Roddick
said, referring the his injuries and the Shanghai absences of Roger Federer
(diaper rash) and Andy Murray (wrist).
Hewitt plays Gael Monfils after he beat fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu
6-2, 6-2. Nikolay Davydenko took down Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-2 and will
play Fernando Gonzalez, who beat Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 6-4. The Russian
and the Chilean are chasing the final spots in London, as is Soderling,
who took a 6-3, 6-4 win over Victor Hanescu. Thomas Berdych eliminated
Marin Cilic and will face Marat Safin. See ya.
Win of the day in Linz goes to Julia Goerges over No.
6 Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-3. Sorana has been slumping since mid-August.
Other notable winners were Iveta Benesova, Lucie Safarova, Flavia Pennetta
and Anna-Lena Groenefeld …Win of the day in Osaka in an oldie but
sort of goodie match goes to Jill Craybas over Kimiko
Date Krumm 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Seeded winners were Caroline Wozniacki, Marion
Bartoli and Samantha Stosur. Japan’s Akiko Morigami, who plans to
retire in November due to injuries, also won….Austrian teen Tamira
Paszek is planning on returning in January and claims she wasn’t
sanctioned by an Austrian anti-doping agency… The Sydney Daily Telegraph
is reporting that Mark Philippoussis is shopping the
rights to his engagement and wedding to American actress Jennifer Esposito
to various magazines. The Scud was once engaged to Miami hotel heiress
Alexis Barbara, while Esposito was briefly married to actor Bradley Cooper.
