Safin's dilemma: How to stop Federer
sify.com
Wednesday, 26 January , 2005, 09:50
Melbourne: Marat Safin knows how to beat Mr Invincible Roger Federer in their semi-final on Thursday at the Australian Open, it's just that he has to execute the game plan.
The Swiss master left nobody in any doubt he is the man to beat in the year's first grand slam tournament with a masterclass straight sets victory over four-time champion Andre Agassi in their quarter-final on Tuesday.
Federer was at another level to the ageing eight-times grand slam champion in an all-too-brief 99 minutes. Now it's Safin's turn to try and stop the runaway 'Federer Express'.
Two-times Australian finalist Safin has the big serves and groundstrokes to match it with Federer, but the Swiss ace hasn't lost to a top-ten player in 24 matches since October 2003.
"Everybody knows basically how to play against Roger, but nobody can manage him to get any closer to that, even get into the three or five sets to make him at least be even," Safin said after beating quarter-final opponent Dominik Hrbaty.
"It's like he's just toying with everybody."
The maverick Russian lost to Federer in last year's Australian final in three sets after an opening set tiebreaker, but Safin pushed the world number one to the limit in their semi-final at the ATP Masters Cup in Houston last November.
Federer denied Safin on six set points but needed eight match points of his own before escaping with a tension-packed 6-3, 7-6 (20/18) triumph.
"The tie-breaker was very special," Federer said. "I've never played a tie-breaker like it. That was really fun, going back and forth, all big points, match points, set points, and the level of play was high too. We were pushing each other to the limits."
Safin recalled: "In the tiebreaker I had so many chances. It was great quality. I really I played well. I don't regret at all that I lost, but I also proved to myself that I was really close.
"You start to learn little bit more (about Federer). You start to look what he likes, what he doesn't like, what you can do against him.
"I really felt that I can give him trouble. Because last year, not many people could give him trouble.
"Whenever he was playing well, there is nobody even had a chance. So for me, it was great to see that I have a chance (in Houston)."
So it's little wonder that Federer ranks Safin's challenge above those of the other top-tenners.
"I have the feeling Safin is playing really good. So I'm really looking forward to the contest with Safin," Federer said.
"He's got the bigger serve and that's going to make it more difficult to break. "His record here speaks for itself and how much he likes this surface." Adding spice to the contest is that Safin has hired Federer's ex-coach Peter Lundgren, while Federer, after going through last year coachless, has employed Australian Tony Roche, the former mentor of world number ones Ivan Lendl and Patrick Rafter.
"Of course, it's an even more interesting match just because of who's coaching him," Federer said.
"But I'm happy I'm through that, that I played him, I got that match away in Houston. So for this reason I can really concentrate on the match itself and not thinking about who's sitting in his corner."
Overall, Federer leads Safin 6-1, with the only loss coming in Moscow in 2002. |
