Marat Safin went into his semi-final on Friday with a plan for beating Roger Federer, only for the five-time champion to take it apart almost at will.
The two-time Grand Slam champion from Russia knew what he needed to do upset Federer and stop his amazing 39-match winning streak at the All England Club, but Federer just wouldn’t let him do it.
“He puts so much pressure on the return that it’s too much,” Safin said.
PHOTO: EPA
“You need to play more matches,” he said. “That’s the only thing. Because otherwise it’s just a game plan, of course. You know how to play against him, but lack of matches doesn’t make them work. I should have at least stayed with him a little bit longer. But just, of course, he takes advantage.”
Safin had two chances to take advantage of Federer, but failed to convert both breakpoints he earned.
“When you have a chance you need to go for it,” said Safin, who won the 2000 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open. “Everybody makes the same mistakes, everybody — except [Rafael] Nadal. That’s what makes the difference between Federer and the rest of the players.”
Safin is a former No. 1 who has tumbled to 75th in the rankings.
But the 28-year-old Russian said he still loves to play the game and that is why he is still competing.
“For sure I’m not doing it for the money. Nobody’s doing it for the cash,” Safin said. “Like [2001 champion Goran] Ivanisevic. He was ranked 100-something in the world and he asked for the wild card. He was not doing it for the money. He doesn’t really need the paycheck by winning Wimbledon. One million more, 1 million less doesn’t really [matter].”
Safin, the first Russian man to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon, said he hopes to build on his success at the All England Club, a place he used to despise.
“I want to take full advantage of it and I’m trying to look forward and try to accumulate as many matches as I can before I start to play the big tournaments, like the US Open is coming up,” he said. “You know, you want to be seeded. But I think with these matches that I won here, it should help me ... look forward to beating the big guys.”
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