Roddick v Safin leads Day Five
by Ashley Browne
Thursday, 18 January, 2007
from australianopen.com
There is a phenomenon in Melbourne called Friday Night Football and when the match-up features two big-name clubs, the hype and the anticipation throughout the day becomes intoxicating.
It is the same during the Australian Open. Friday night marks the end of the working week in Melbourne and in the lead-up to the weekend, the tennis grabs even more of the spotlight, if such a thing is possible. And if the Friday night match-up brings together two really big names, then the build-up will be massive.
And we certainly can look forward to a clash of the gladiators under the lights on Day Five at Melbourne Park when No.6 seed Andy Roddick meets No.26 seed Marat Safin.
Injuries last year caused Safin's ranking to tumble, which is why the dual grand slam winner comes up against Roddick, himself a former US Open champion, so early in the championship.
"I think we're both maybe better than a third-round match-up against each other, admitted Roddick after his second-round defeat of Marc Gicquel. "But that's the way it shakes out. You know, we both have to deal with it. I'm sure he's not thrilled about it either."
The pair have split the six matches they've played. Safin beat Roddick here in a five-set quarter-final in 2005 and he also won the last time they met – in straight sets during a Davis Cup semi-final on clay in Moscow last September. But as far as the Russian is concerned, that clash was an eternity ago.
"Well, it's a different story. It's not Davis Cup. It's not clay court. It's a hard court. It's playing pretty well. It's a new season. He struggled a little bit in the first round and today he looked very solid, serving big," Safin said after surviving a five-set scare on Day Three against Israel's Dudi Sela.
"But I am already 100 per cent into the game and I had two tough matches, so it's kind of also an advantage for me because I already have been running for seven hours on the court and I'm already warmed up."
这是18日萨芬说的,今天Safin输给了Roddick,很可惜,没能在今年拿到开门红,看了赛后的统计数据:
整场比赛耗时192分钟。萨芬一共发出22个ACE球,有2次双发失误;罗迪克发出14个ACE球,有2次双发失误。一发得分率萨芬略占优势,二发得分率罗迪克占据上风。主动得分上,萨芬得到52分,罗迪克则是47分。非受迫性失误方面,萨芬以39比33占据优势。整场比赛,萨芬7次破发机会把握住4次,而罗迪克12次破发机会有3次破发成功。总得分上,萨芬以128比135处于劣势。
好多次的关键分都没有抓住……
我没有看到萨芬手指治疗左右的四局比赛,虽然今天萨芬输了,毕竟经过去年的伤病,人都清瘦了这么多,状态还没有完全恢复,不过可以对今年接下来的比赛对萨芬充满信心。
其实今天看比赛的时候,很多时候都在看萨芬challenge鹰眼,没有计算过成功率,应该是很高的,对裁判……不好说,作为萨芬的支持者,这个裁判早被丢到太平洋了。