Marat Safin: The Samurai Warrior

Jim McLennan

And the story goes, two samurai warriors agree to fight to the death. The following morning at dawn, they bow, unsheathe their swords, assume a ready fighting stance, and then wait,...  Silently,...  Waiting. 

The sun rises, the sun sets, neither samurai has moved. They bow, and agree to resume their fight to the death the following morning. And so it goes the following day. But by days end neither has made the first move, for to make that move would expose them to a potentially fatal counter by their opponent. 

Martial artists of any stripe are focused, they are centered, their moves fluid. They use only the minimum energy required. And in nearly all instances they use the energy of their opponents attack and redirect that energy against them. Replying to the initial attack rather than initiating, waiting for the opening. 

In the US Open final, Safin rallied with Sampras. No winners in these rallies. Again it must be said, no winners in these backcourt rallies from Safin, just heavy groundstrokes, placed deep and in the corners. Time and again Pete initiated, forcing the situation, only to mishit or err. Safin waited for Pete’s play, the bold crosscourt or the chip and charge, and in nearly all instances Safin replied. 

The Big Cat

Safin’s agility around the court reminded me of “The Big Cat” Miroslav Mecir. And just like Mecir, Safin took the return of serve early, not exactly crushing the ball but using Pete’s pace to paint the lines or dip the ball at his feet. The main difference here is that Mecir did not

When Pete approached, Safin had the answers, wickedly disguised cross court backhands, swooping forehands down the line. But all struck with a timing that made Pete commit first, and once committed or “off balance” Safins reply often left Pete late to move.  

The telling point of the match occurred towards the end of the second set. Sampras approached deep to Safin’s forehand corner. Safin’s reply hooked around the net post, landing precisely in the corner. Truly a perfect shot, and at that point it looked as though he could hit just about any shot. And as if to emphasize just that, on the next point, Safin serves, Sampras returns somewhat weekly and Safin drop shots the greatest player in the history of the game. Will someone tell me when they have seen a drop shot used against Sampras?

The best line of the US Open coverage, and a testament to Safin’s prospects, was by Mary Carillo, saying, “This guy Safin is so amazing he improves on the changeovers”  and if so welcome Marat and welcome the “New Balls”.

In the upcoming year Safin will be “the target” for the up and coming players. He is now a good win, and this is in contrast to the early part of last season when his results were poor indeed. The question is whether his skills will win out over other counter punchers. Counter punchers playing behind the baseline like Moya or Corretja, will do less damage than counter punchers playing along the baseline, as Kucera or Kafelnikov. I suspect his patience and shot selection may be challenged in those latter instances. For that we will have to wait and see.

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