Marat Safin Still Making His Way
Marat Safin proceeded to the second round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament with great difficulty. He beat little-known Canadian player Frank Dancevic, but only after three hours and a lot of luck, winning two of three sets with tie breaks. The two-time grand slam winner performed unimpressively.
“It is no secret that my career is going downhill,” Safin said after the match. “But I still keep playing, simply because the feeling you have after winning a match is better than anything there is. In general, I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.”
Mikhail Yuzhny, Igor Kunitsyn and Teimuraz Gabashvili also continued into the second round. Dmitry Tursunov lost to Brit Tim Henman, in spite of having won five of the last six matches he played against him. Rafael Nadal also made it to the second round, beating Australian Alun Jones, but also with difficulty, after an old knee injury acted up.
Five Russian women players made it into the third round. They are Vera Dushevina, Elena Dementyeva, Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva and Ekaterina Makarova. Only Makarova faced any real challenge. She faced Japanese player Ai Sugiyama and will play against Belgian Justine Henin next. Zvonareva will play Serena Williams.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 31, 2007
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