Marat Safin bid farewell to his adoring Chinese fans after defeat at the Shanghai Masters yesterday, but not before taking a swipe at his opponent Tomas Berdych and American Andy Roddick.
The Russian suggested Berdych had feigned injury during his 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win and said the Czech needed to “grow up.”
Then he rounded on Roddick and other players who have complained about the length of the season, saying he had suggested it should be made shorter in 2004 but had been shouted down.
The 29-year-old refused to shake Berdych’s hand after the match because his opponent called on 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,” Safin said.
“So then of course the guy will say: ‘No, I’ve been injured but then I felt a little bit better,’” he said.
“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,” Safin said.
On Monday, Roddick called on the ATP to reduce the length of the men’s season.
“In 2004 we had this discussion in Olympic Games with Roddick about it and they were blaming me that I’m playing too much,” Safin said.
“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,” he said.
“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?” Safin asked.
“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,” he said.
Meanwhile, US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro retired because of a wrist injury while losing 7-5, 2-1 to Austrian Jurgen Melzer yesterday.
The Argentine followed Andy Roddick in departing the event early because of injury after the US fourth seed limped out of the tournament on Tuesday.
Melzer clinched the first set on a tiebreak and was preparing for his opponent’s second service game of the second when Del Potro decided he could no longer continue.
Top seed Rafa Nadal marched into the last 16 with an entertaining 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 victory over American James Blake.
After Nadal raced away with the first set, the pair contested two absorbing sets before Nadal, with Blake serving to take the match into a decisive tiebreak, unleashed a sizzling forehand to clinch victory.
France’s Gael Monfils reached the third round after coming beating Lleyton Hewitt 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
In other matches yesterday:
• Tommy Robredo (ESP) beat Florian Mayer (GER) 4-6, 7-6, 6-4
• Rainer Schuettler (GER) beat Tommy Haas (GER) 6-4, retired
• Feliciano Lopez (ESP) beat David Ferrer (ESP) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
• Robin Soderling (SWE) beat Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 6-4, 7-5
• Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) beat Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-4, 7-6
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) beat Zeng Shao Xuan (CHN) 6-3, 6-3
■JAPAN OPEN
AFP, OSAKA, JAPAN
India’s Sania Mirza reached the quarter-finals of the Japan Open yesterday, beating Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine in straight sets.
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