| Friday, 4 July 2008 Written by Helen Gilbert He fits the description for a job in broadcasting perfectly. Tall, dark and handsome with a good sense of humour and an excellent knowledge of tennis. But Marat Safin won’t be taking a job in tennis commentary any time soon, if ever. The Russian, who was beaten by Roger Federer in straights sets in the semi-finals, is for now, at least, concentrating on his tennis. Just what he will do after he retires is unclear. “There are too many options. Hopefully I will decide the right one. Definitely not commentating that’s for sure,” he laughed. The 28-year-old simply had praise for the top seed after his 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 loss and admitted he would have been better prepared if he had been playing regularly against top players such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick. Having fallen down the world rankings – he was 75th at the start of the tournament – the former world number one admitted he was never in with a chance. But his glorious Wimbledon run has sparked his desire to climb up the rankings and do well during the US hard court season. He aims to play as many matches as possible before the big tournaments and is hoping to be seeded at the US Open. “I want to start to do better on Masters Series events. I didn’t pass the second round and third round in the last three years. It’s a little bit disappointing. But I think with these matches that I won here, it should help me get through the second and third round and I look forward to beating the big guys.” Reflecting on his semi-final, he said Federer was playing well but wouldn’t say who he thought would win between the Swiss and the Spaniard. “Federer’s playing solid. He doesn’t do anything fancy, just plays how he needs to play to be able to win. He has a couple of shots when he’s under pressure. He does them all the time. So just nothing fancy.” And Safin is quick to point out than when he had a sniff of a chance with his two break-points, Federer just upped the ante. “I didn’t expect he was going to serve twice exactly right into my body. I had to attack. Because two times he just served perfectly to the body. Normally the person doesn’t do that. Then I tried to stay back and he just saw it and then placed the ball, kick wide. So he was great at the break-point. He didn’t even give me a chance.” Meanwhile, he described Nadal as playing “just too good”. In fact, the Russian went as far as saying he hoped Federer and Nadal would be considered the greatest tennis players in history. “Nadal didn’t lose a match on clay since, I don’t know he was 10 maybe,” he laughed. “And Federer, he’s going for his sixth Wimbledon. He is definitely I think going to pass the 14 Grand Slams. I hope for him. So I guess I can say to my kids I played against him.” Looking ahead, the Russian said it would be difficult to leave the game behind, especially the adrenalin. “You live tennis. This is the life. It’s not only sport but it’s always a pressure. You’re dealing with the pressure and once it’s over you start to miss it.” But for now, at least, he is simply focused on enjoying the ride.
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No Stopping The Fed Express
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