Tuesday, August 06, 2002
Safin's disappointing year hits bottom
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
MASON, Ohio — Marat Safin had it figured — a No. 1 ranking in the world, a Grand Slam title or two, a breakthrough year for his up-and-coming career.
The 22-year-old Russian hasn't gotten any of it, and the frustration is showing.
IF YOU GO
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What: Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.
Where: ATP Tennis Center, Mason.
Today's schedule: Sessions at 11 a.m., 7 p.m.
TV: 1-3 p.m., ESPN (live), 10 p.m.-midnight, ESPN2 (same-day delayed)
Tickets: Available for both sessions at $20 each. Call 651-0303 or TicketMaster at 562-4949 (www.ticketmaster.com).
Click here to view tournament draw bracket
(Acrobat PDF file, 10K)
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Safin imploded in the first round of the Masters Series Cincinnati, kicking the timeclock, screaming in disgust and finally leaving the court in dejection.
Unseeded Greg Rusedski simply got out of the way and let the world's second-ranked player beat himself Monday night. Rusedski's 7-6 (7), 6-2 victory that left the 2000 U.S. Open champion at a loss.
“I don't have any special shot to play against these guys to beat them,” Safin said. “That's what I'm feeling now — I can't beat them. It's terrible. Right now, I've got nothing.”
Safin's self-destruction set up the biggest upset on the first day of the $2.95 million tournament north of Cincinnati.
No. 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov and No. 10 Roger Federer also lost, and No. 6 Andre Agassi needed three sets on a sweltering afternoon to move on.
Germany's Rainer Schuettler beat Kafelnikov 6-3, 6-2, and Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic edged Federer 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Agassi broke Morocco's Younes El Aynaoui in the third game of their match, then held on for a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory.
Playing the featured evening match on center court, Safin lost his composure after getting ahead 5-2 in the first-set tiebreaker. He threw his head back and screamed after missing a forehand that would have brought him to set point.
He unraveled from there.
“It means you have no confidence,” Safin said. “You miss a shot and everything is turning around, everything is going against you. It means you're in bad shape, you're in a bad mood and you're not playing well.”
He was in a bad mood the rest of the way. Rusedski broke his serve to open the second set, and Safin became particularly annoyed after he lost the first point of the next game.
He walked to the courtside clock and kicked it, sending a loud thud across the court.
“You can see sometimes he gets upset on the court, but then he can come back,” said Rusedski, who had 16 unforced errors to Safin's 30. “He can go up and down a little bit.”
This time, there was no upturn. Rusedski finished it off with three aces in the final game, and Safin quickly left the court with his equipment bag on his shoulder and his chin down by his chest.
He had hoped to be on top of the world at this point in the season, poised for another U.S. Open run. Instead, he's not sure how to pull out of a nosedive.
He reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open last year, then set high goals for 2002. He hasn't been able to meet them: He lost in the final of the Australian Open, in the semifinals of the French Open and in the second round at Wimbledon.
“I'm supposed to be No. 1 and I'm supposed to win some big tournaments this year,” he said. “I've had chances, but I didn't do it. I don't know what to do.”
After his first-round loss, Kafelnikov — who won the Australian Open in 1999 and was ranked No. 1 in the world for six weeks — also was wondering what it will take to turn his career around.
Kafelnikov said it's getting tougher to play at the top level.
“You have to make a strong decision whether you really want to go through the hard way again, or just kind of let it go,” said Kafelnikov, 28. “I am in the middle right now. I am in the undecided period.
“It's not an easy thing, especially when you have been on the top for a long period of time and then all of a sudden, you are back on a level with very average guys.”
No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and No. 15 Pete Sampras play their first-round matches Tuesday.
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Safin's disappointing year hits bottom