Looking down from Marat’s previous career peak (there is very little doubt that there will be the ‘next’ peak), his total comeback is visible, but in the distance. The wins over the ‘gray’ America Brian Vahaly and over a bit more skillful but still of no different colour Jarkko Nieminen do not fit into the box of ‘superb wins’. However, this point of view is more than just inappropriate at this time. Instead, sighs, totally deserved by Marat, burst out of our chests as smoothly as Marat’s two dozen 200-km/h aces blowing out dust from the corners of the court surface. 8 unforced errors in three sets – that was in the US Open final three-and-a- half years ago. Now it is around 5, let it be three sets or four. Ironically, there is improvement behind this too.

On Monday, playing a shorter match with a simpler competitor, Safin gave us and himself more than fifty unwanted gifts. Two days later destabilizing the uncanny but feisty play of the Finn (who not so long ago was among the seeds in the Slams), Marat sealed the victory with a reduced number of errors, 47. The statistics are only backing up the good impression from the live game. Marat’s game is becoming more precise and clean minute-by-minute, all this right before our eyes. This is due to hard work and sky-high self belief and motivation, which surprisingly only increased during the 6-month layoff at the ‘rock-bottom’.

The third round starts tomorrow for Marat. Safin has to play against yet another ‘lumberjack’. The only difference is that he’s not Finnish, but American. That latter is a veteran who is oath to write memoirs by now, but with all the extraordinary precision and reliability of his serve it would be a sin for Todd martin to start the literary works just yet, even considering his ‘grand pa’s ’ in tennis terms. 7-6 7-6 7-6 was the score with which this gray-haired giant moved past his opponent Ivo Karlovic. It is worth to mention that on Monday Martin played another marathon, a 5-set match with two tie-breaks. Why are we saying this? We are saying this because Martin might have his flaws, but he does have a mighty big bag of stamina. To be frank, he’s not that old after all. Andre Agassi is his age and is nothing less and nothing more than a favourite to win the prestigious title.

Nevertheless, that does not matter. Has Todd Martin the strength to fight in scorching heat or not, Marat will have some real chances to get to round four. It might not be right to say “will get” just yet. Let Safin climb to another peak first, and then you (as a die-hard fan) can expect a win from him and even demand one. But now Marat “has some real chances”. Marat has more weapons up his sleeve, although the powers of the service of the two are close to equal.