How long has it been, with Marat, winning back-to-back-matches? A. LA Tennis Open!

This is Marat's second quarterfinal of the year, and everybody is very very excited to see a Safin-Nadal clash today.

Safin defeated an injured Jose Acasuso (ARG) in straight sets, (6-4, 6-2) kept his perfect form and consistent serve, didn't allow any break for Acasuso in the first set, and ultimately gain confidence in the second, enough to keep his charge going the right way.

And just yesterday, Marat pulled a cosmic show by defeating his second-round Chilean opponent Fernando Gonzalez, who was seeded 7th in the tourney, in a classic 6-3 6-4 match.

This evening, Marat has yet to face a more formidable challenger, Rafael Nadal, who narrowly won against James Blake, and the streams will be on.

It takes a vast amount of emotions to pull these news through, but I say, let's sit and watch our streams.
It's going to be a pretty good ride. Wherever the wind blows, Marat sure is the best. :p

Some pics!

More practice with Blake:

Safin-Acasuso match:

at the press conference:

Safin-Gonzalez match:

The press conference after that:

Time for the Fans!

Remember: Safin-Nadal match is scheduled for the evening, not before 7pm.

Tune in to MTF, http://www.menstennisforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=25  for more details.

I won't be watching, but I hope we shall yield good results.

Davai Marat!

And the long wait is over for Chinese fans: Here's to China Open!

Another tournament, another day closer to Marat's retirement. Heh, now you'd wish you could turn back time and look back to yesteryears' Australian Open 2005, well, nah. This is all we get now.

Now after all the press releases and the wildcard talk, Marat finally hopped into a plane and did not disappoint.
He's already there, arrived with the 'caterpillar' shirt (as my friend aptly described), and will face Jose Acasuso, his first round-opponent. Seems like the Chinese do want the Russian for keeps, they've set a collision very favorable to Marat due to Acasuso's injuries.

Match has been postponed for today and will start on Tuesday. The farewell party will be held after Marat's last match in Beijing. Next stop is Shanghai. But till then, let's party.

Photos at the airport:

Practice, but not shirtless:

A video for everybody, just follow the link:

http://mv.baidu.com/export/flashplayer.swf?vid=cd05349841f8e952ce6c6b6c

A Tsingtao to Maratik!

Here's an article on the China Open site about Marat holding his retirement ceremony there, along with the release Main Draw Entry List.

"On the women’s side, the first wild card goes to Belgium player, former world No. 1,Kim Clijsters. On the men’s side Marin Cilic from Croatia, Marat Safin from Russia, and Marcos Baghdatis from Cyprus received the three wild cards. All the past champions at China Open since 2004 are most likely to meet again at China Open.

Marat Safin had confirmed to hold his retirement ceremony at China Open. He expressed his affection and gratitude for China Open in his letter to the Chinese fans: “I had great experience at China Open last time I was there, and to win the champion at China Open is very important moment for me as well. I am very happy I will be back to Beijing this October to participate the first year of newly upgrade China Open, I would like to invite you all come and witness this great tournament with me at Olympic Stadium. And I also like you all be there and spend one of my memorable time with me at China Open.”

“Marat Safin has several options to hold his retirement ceremony after the US Open, including Beijing, Shanghai, Paris and Moscow,” said the player manager of China Open Organizing Committee, “and yet he chose China Open to bid farewell to all his fans around the world.” Safin means a lot to China Open and China Open also witnessed Safin achieving his best accomplishments. To bid farewell at China Open is to show his gratitude for his fans in China and in Asia. Fighting in the same stadium with his sister Safina undoubted means something special for him, noted the manager."

I thought Bercy was the place to say it formally. Well plans change....

Marat's received a wildcard entry along with Marcos Baghdatis on October 2. Everyone's happy, another tournament for the farewell tour. Dinara's also in. :)

Here's the actual article, released this week. Indulge. Lucky are the people who get to watch him play.



Grand slams stars to shine at China Open
By Guan Xiaomeng (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-09-09 17:24
One year after the Beijing Olympics, the Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court will again host Rafael Nadal, the Beijing Olympic champion, together with a swarm of his fellow star players. 　　The organizing committee of the China Open tennis tournament announced on Monday all of the regular players confirmed to play at the upcoming Open in early October are ranked within the ATP top 50.

　　Top ten seeds and grand slam winners including Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick will join the tournament in China and eighteen of the top-30 ranked men's players have also confirmed. All of the 25 regular players are from the top 45. Two of the wildcards have gone to former China Open champions, but lower-ranked, Marat Safin of Russia and Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.