alpinist

roland garros is underway! the first 3 days were almost completely washed out, but several big names have already progressed to the next round... ivanovic, jankovic, williams sisters, federer, djokovic and of course the claycourt wiz, rafa! sharapova was given a huge scare, but got past rodina.

old timers like hewitt and safin also got through the first hurdle. tennis-wise, these players are already considered oldies, even if they're only 27 and 28, respectively. well, because as boris becker puts it, tennis players' lives are measured in "dog years". anyway, pete bodo, tennis analyst, provided few short insights on safin, the alpinist. here it is:

But Safin, perhaps disoriented by that remarkable early-career statement and the pressures it brought to bear, was unable to follow up. He would reach the no. 1 ranking, and three more Grand Slam finals, winning one (the Australian Open of 2005). He had all the skills - no doubt about it. In fact, he may be the most skilled player (after Roger Federer) of his generation. But Safin's moody, auto-tormenting nature, part-and-parcel of his overall philosophical bent (further irritated by a steady stream of injuries, large and small), was unable to withstand the kind of weight that was being put on it.

Instead of becoming a dominant, always-in-the-mix champion, Safin came to represent a different and certainly happier if less celebrated type of player: the "tennis bum." The term sounds harsh these days, when an all-obliterating professionalism is the norm even among lesser players, but a few decades ago the term was still used with affection, and thinly-veiled admiration and envy, to characterize the fun-loving, talented, roguish, n'er do wells who stubbornly clung to boyhood by trying to make a living in a sport that didn't offer much of one. Safin, in some ways, has raged against the machine, but the machine ate him. What, did you think it wouldn't?

zel was asking a while ago when would safin ascend to the top again... i think it would be a longshot. maybe he can come back to the top 10, given his extraordinary skills. but with a lot of more determined (read, hungry and ambitious) and younger players around, it might be difficult to regain that place.

of course, tennis gods are somewhat kind to some gifted players. who knows... safin might do a capriati comeback and win a few important titles and maybe another slam, before finally fading into total bum-ness. obviously, j-cap did not achieve what she was able to do without the renewed dedication, proper training and conditioning, as well as a more positive game outlook. marat, with his immense skills, just needs to focus... should have less bumming and partying. even kid sis dinara, who won this year's berlin masters, is saying that!