Safins last Wimbledon ends with 1st-round loss
Tennis newsIt seemed fitting, somehow, that two-time major champion Marat Safins always-turbulent relationship with Wimbledon would end this way.
A first-round departure.
Against the unheralded Jesse Levine, a 133rd-ranked qualifier from the United States who began Tuesday with two losses and no wins on the tour in 2009.
And with a mangled racket and plenty of kicking and screaming, including a couple of arguments with the chair umpire, then a postmatch parting shot at a line judge Safin called a little bit too blind.
Safin used to rant about disliking tennis on grass, and he once complained about the high price and low quality of food at the players restaurant at the All England Club. Well, he doesnt have to worry about any of that again after bowing out in his final Wimbledon with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 loss to Levine.
After confirming this would be his last appearance at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament – Safin has vowed to retire at seasons end – he was asked how he feels about being done with Wimbledon.
Relieved, the 29-year-old Safin replied. Pretty much relieved.
Hes a former No. 1 player who won the 2000 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open, but a series of injuries slowed him recently. Still, Safin came to Wimbledon ranked 24th and seeded 14th, and had to be considered quite a favorite against Levine, who never had defeated anyone ranked better than 67th.
The 21-year-old Levine, who was born in Canada and moved to the U.S. at age 13, found Tuesdays experience surreal.
Hes an amazing player, and Im still kind of feeling weird right now that I just beat Safin, because Ive always watched him play on TV, said Levine, who turned pro in 2007. I just kind of went out there with nothing to lose and played some good tennis.
Levine was a teen when Safin burst onto the scene as a brash, big-hitting 20-year-old who knocked off Sampras to win the U.S. Open.
I really had to … focus on playing against the ball and not worrying about, Oh, wow, Im playing against Marat Safin on the other side of the court, Levine said. Because then things could have gotten a lot more interesting.
As is his wont, Safin made things interesting enough. In the early going, he broke his racket by spiking it on the court.
Leading 4-3 in the third-set tiebreaker, Safin hit a shot near a line that was ruled out. Afterward, Safin said: Thanks for the guy who made the call. I want to say hello to him. Too bad that he was a little bit too blind.
In the fourth set, Safin told the chair umpire he could check for chalk on the ball to confirm a call. Rebuffed, Safin added: So all players are stupid?
Safin reached at least the semifinals at all four majors, including at Wimbledon last year, but he has been criticized for not living up to the potential stored in his 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) frame – about 7 inches (18 centimeters) taller than Levine.
In the history of tennis, everybodys an underachiever, Safin said. Agassi should have been winning, I dont know, 15 Grand Slams. Sampras should have been winning 20 Grand Slams. Federer should be winning – already should have 25.
And what about you, Marat?
I should probably have (won) a couple of more, he said, but Im pretty satisfied with what I did.
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Tennis news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
