Lots of upsets early on in this year's Wimbledon tournament...I think Federer has the best chance...Yet, Hewitt or Rodick might make a run for it...Today I was very impressed with how the Spainard Lopez played against Marat Safin...So far we have seen folks like Nadal, Henman, and Safin get upset very early on...
Confident no more
Safin's run on grass ended by Feliciano Lopez
Posted: Friday June 24, 2005 1:16PM
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- When Marat Safin left Wimbledon after one match last year, he couldn't stand even looking at a grass court. When he left on Friday after three matches, he vowed he'd be back.
"For the next four or five years, for sure," Safin said. "It's only two weeks on grass, so it doesn't take much."
Safin lost his third-round match 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to Feliciano Lopez, an uncommon Spaniard with a touch for grass. He has reached the last 16 three times in the last four years.
While Safin made it to the quarterfinals in 2001, Wimbledon remains the two-time major winner's least successful Grand Slam.
Two weeks ago, the Australian Open champion rolled into the final at Halle, Germany, and almost beat top-ranked Roger Federer.
That effort gave him a newfound confidence on grass, and the fifth-seeded Safin used it at Wimbledon to beat former top-10 players Paradorn Srichaphan and Mark Philippoussis in the first two rounds without dropping a set.
But against Lopez he failed to take his chances.
"I'm still comfortable. Just I couldn't really find my game," said Safin, who got a warning from the umpire for sending a shot onto the roof of Court 1.
"The way I've been playing for the past two weeks is great," he added. "I'm satisfied finally I found my game on grass. ... Just have nothing to complain about. I'm pretty happy."
How long that happiness lasts depends on a doctor's advice. Safin has been carrying a small ligament tear in his left knee, and he may miss Russia's Davis Cup tie two weeks after Wimbledon if he needs surgery.
"Whatever the doctor will say, I guess I have to do," Safin said. "He's optimistic that I don't have to go to any surgery."
While the Russian's tournament is over, Lopez is getting ready to face 2004 semifinalist Mario Ancic in the next round. The 10th-seeded player from Croatia beat Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
Unlike most Spaniards, the 26th-seeded Lopez is not a clay-court specialist. He learned to play on hard courts in Madrid, where there are fewer clay courts.
"My game is a little bit different than the Spanish players," Lopez said. "I go more to the net. I try to come in. But I like to play also on clay."
Lopez broke Safin at love in the sixth game of the third set, with the Russian double-faulting on the final point.
"After I won the first set I think I started to play better. And finally I really played my tennis," said Lopez.
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