| ..:: ARTICLES ::.. | Sulky Safin Crashes out
Jun/22/2004
Reuters
Marat Safin disappointed his supporters once again as he crashed out in the first round to fellow Russian Dmitry Tursunov.
Safin, who missed last year's tournament through injury and was beaten in the second round in 2002, collapsed after taking the first set.
The No.19 seed failed to live up to his reputation as one of the game's brightest talents, although it came as no surprise that his temper got the better of him as his form slipped away.
After claiming a decisive break in the very first game Safin went on to take the first set 6-4 with a booming serve on his first set point.
Tursunov was struggling to make his own serve count and when Safin broke again in the seventh game of the second set it looked inevitable that he would go on to win.
However, the tables turned rapidly as Tursunov reeled off seven games in a row to level the match and go a break up in the third.
Safin's familiar temper got the better of him as he failed to break back at 0-2 and he smashed his racquet on the ground.
The remainder of the set went with serve before Safin briefly rallied in the fourth, winning 11 of 12 points to establish a 4-1 advantage.
Yet he contrived to throw it all away once again as Tursunov claimed 10 consecutive points, and when the set went into a tiebreak there was only going to be one winner, as a sullen Safin took just one point.
Safin vows not to return
Jun/22/2004
Safin, who reached the quarter-finals at the All England Club in 2001 but has only won two other matches, lost 4-6 7-5 6-3 7-6 to the world number 70 on court two, the famous 'Seeds Graveyard'.
The former US Open champion, who lost to Roger Federer in the final of the Australian Open in January, said: "I give up on Wimbledon. It's definitely not the tournament for me. I hate this, I have to admit it. I try to be serious. I came here one week before and I was practising quite a lot. I spend a lot of time on the courts."
He added: "I tried and I tried but it doesn't work. It is not a tournament where I can play well because I don't feel comfortable. I cannot move. For me it's difficult to play my tennis.
"The bounce is very low for me. I hate the low bounce and sometimes bad bounces. For everybody it's like this but especially for my game I cannot adjust to this. You have to be really focused in your mind but it's not my territory.
"Every time I don't know how it (the ball) is going to bounce. So it's really a nightmare for me. So after a while I just get bored. I completely lost motivation and I give up."
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