Safin injured in tuneup win, could miss Wimbledon
HALLE, Germany -- Marat Safin played through a knee
injury Monday at the Gerry Weber Open to beat wild-card
Alexander Popp 6-3, 6-2 and could be forced to miss
Wimbledon.
The Australian Open champion won his first match on
grass in three years, but his left knee was ailing
after the first-round victory.
"It hurt out there. If it feels the same before Wimbledon,
I will withdraw," Safin said. "I will sit down with my
trainer and the doctor and make a decision."
The second-seeded Russian is joined at this key Wimbledon
tuneup by top-ranked Roger Federer and French Open champion
Rafael Nadal.
Seventh-seeded Tommy Haas defeated Jiri Novak 6-4, 6-1;
fourth-seeded Guillermo Canas ousted Fernando Verdasco
6-4, 6-4; and No. 8 Feliciano Lopez edged Kenneth
Carlsen 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5).
Safin has a dismal record on grass, a surface he dislikes.
Last year, he was eliminated in the first round of Halle
and Wimbledon. In 2003, an injury forced him to skip the
whole grass-court season.
"It's more mental than physical," said Safin, referring
to his aversion to grass courts. "But today I played
impressively, considering my knee hurt. Your head's not
there because you're always worried about what happens
if you move left or right."
Safin was able to power shots deep into the corners
against Popp, a 6-foot-7 grass-court specialist from
Germany who has twice reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Safin said his knee has bothered him for two months,
making it difficult to work on his conditioning.
"I always say the year is too long. We don't have time
to recover," said Safin, who did not specify what
precisely is wrong with his knee. "It's an option to
withdraw from Wimbledon, but it's a big tournament,
a lot of points. I might do well there."
Two-time defending champion Federer and Nadal could
meet in the semifinals with both facing relatively
easy draws.
"It will be interesting to play here in Halle and in
Wimbledon," Federer said. "I see him being a good
player on all surfaces."
Also, Jurgen Melzer edged Alberto Martin 7-5, 6-7 (3),
7-6 (3); Olivier Rochus beat Cyril Saulnier 6-4, 6-4;
and Florian Mayer defeated Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 7-6 (4).
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=2077407
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◆ From: 140.119.141.211
※ 編輯: jcshie 來自: 140.119.141.211 (06/07 08:09)
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