Results tagged ‘ Fun ’

Farewell Marat Safin

Dear Marat,

I’ll never forget you, your game, your bad temper, your humor, your way of always speaking your mind. In 2004, on the day he retired after losing against Lleyton Hewitt in the first round of his beloved Wimbledon, Goran Ivanisevic, speaking of his jokes and crushed rackets, said that there was one Ivanisevic for each generation and that you were likely to be the one sporting this title in the years to come. In a way, he was right. Except he was totally wrong. Your personality is too strong to be limited to a comparison. You are Marat Safin.

Some said your career was a waste. I confess I’m among these people. Fabrice Santoro, asked to comment on your encounter with Lleyton Hewitt in the Paris-Bercy final in 2002, said: “This is the number one in the world against the best player in the world”. By “best player in the world”, he was referring to you. In my opinion, there are only two active players whose talent can be compared with yours: Roger Federer and Tommy Haas. You won 2 Grand Slam titles and experienced a short-lived reign as number one in the world. Any average player would put that on their Christmas wish list. But you’re not an average player. You are Marat Safin.

I don’t resent you for that, though. You wanted to party more than you wanted to hurt yourself on a practice court. Your choice, nobody can blame you for that. I only really hated you once, when you broke Lleyton Hewitt and Australia’s dream in 2005 for your last moment of glory. But I forgive you for all the wonderful moments you gave us all. If I had to choose one right now, it would be your shorts-dropping against Felix Mantilla in Roland Garros in 2004. This sums up all the fun you could give the crowd without even hitting a ball. A shame the chair umpire didn’t take it that way at the time…

Farewell Marat, enjoy your life !

A fan

Picture: The Age http://images.theage.com.au/ftage/ffximage/2009/01/21/tennis__13__gallery__522x400.jpg