The Good, The Bad and The Marat

網壇裡的優等生﹑劣等生及什麼都不是的薩芬

October 23, 2006

Joel Drucker

I’m looking forward to Marat Safin’s San Jose debut. It’s always interesting to see how a big name handles his first-ever appearance at a tournament. In Safin’s case, that SAP Open effort will be compounded by the factors that have for nearly a decade made him one of the more beguiling characters. In a sport of individuals, he is even more so.

我十分期待薩芬第一次參加的聖荷西公開賽﹐觀察一個大明星首度亮相的表現總是很有意思的。對薩芬這個特立獨行的球員而言﹐ 在SAP公開賽會擦出什麼火花﹐而薩芬近十年來令人迷惑不解的個人特質也使比賽的結果增添懸念。像網球這樣個人式的運動﹐他的角色更是鮮明炫惑。

It’s never certain with Safin if it’s best to start assessing him by what he does off the court or on it. Let’s start outside the lines. Safin often gives off every indication that away from tennis he heartily enjoys the ample financial and lifestyle rewards that accompany wealth and fame attained at a young age. Whether dining with a large group of friends, casting his eye on one of the many women who have captured his fancy or strolling through the luxurious hotels he occupies while on tour, Safin is exquisitely boyish, rather charming in his odd pursuit of happy feelings and the awareness of their toll on his tennis. Pushed into tennis by his mother, shipped off to Spain to refine his game, Safin is at once a lifelong tennis devotee and an anguished rebel. “I never chose anything in my life,” he once told me, “so how can I be expected to make the right decisions? Live and learn, right?”

無論薩芬在場上及場外做什麼﹐那都不是評斷他的依據。就從場外開始談起好了﹐薩芬總不違言他十分享受少年成名所帶給他的巨額財富和生活方式。不管是跟一群好友聚餐﹑和愛慕的女人眉來眼去﹑或者下榻於高檔的豪華飯店﹐薩芬總是非常天真任性﹐即使明知未來可能會有可怕的代價﹐他還是在所不惜地及時行樂。在母親的望子成龍敦促下﹐薩芬被送往西班牙訓練﹐之後隨即成為終生熱愛網球的球手﹐然而也始終是痛苦掙扎的叛逆小子。他曾經告訴我" 我一生中從來無法自己選擇﹐那麼你如何期待我做出正確的決定呢? 只能隨著歲月成長一邊學習﹐不是嗎? "

While at one level Safin is the ultimate example of the kid who is damned by being told how talented he is, his recognition of his shortcomings humanizes him. Yet when the Safin machine is humming, it purrs with everything that makes contemporary tennis a remarkable showcase of athleticism. Power oozes from his every pore, most notably from Safin’s massive serve and a backhand so efficient that it earns a rare term ascribed to a two-hander: elegance. For a man 6’ 4”, Safin is also exceptionally agile, moving with ballerina-like grace and the fluid steps of a man who has indeed endured many hours of nuanced footwork drills. These multi-faceted qualities are rare in a tennis player, and have earned him two Grand Slams, victories punctuated by wins over such heavyweights as Pete Sampras (a straight-set whupping in the 2000 U.S. Open final) and Roger Federer (a scintillating five-set semi at the 2005 Australian).

雖然從某一個層面來說﹐薩芬是個很極端的例子﹐沉醉於對他過人天賦的讚嘆幾乎寵壞了這個小孩﹐然而對於自己缺失的認知卻也顯現他平凡的另一面。不過﹐當薩芬火力全開時﹐他所展現給世人的是現代網球耀眼奪目﹑豐富華麗的運動技藝。他的活力四射﹐最讓人津津樂道的是強力的發球及絕世的雙手反拍﹐甚至被喻為 “優雅的反拍” ﹐通常只用來形容單反的形容詞。以六呎四的高大身材而言﹐薩芬可謂出奇地靈活﹐跑動敏捷流暢優美﹐如同芭蕾般賞心悅目﹐而這些精彩球技的背後是長時間辛苦地移位訓練所換來的。很少球員擁有如此多面向的技術﹐而也因此為他贏來兩座大滿貫--兩次均擊敗當代霸主﹐如2000年美網輕取山普拉斯及2005年澳網與費德勒扣人心弦的五盤精典半決賽。

So goes the good Marat. What’s sad is that too often for his own good the bad Marat has surfaced. It’s striking to me that a player as skilled as Safin went more than four years between Slam triumphs. It’s also depressing to see how much his concentration wavers from match to match, month to month, year to year. There have been days when Safin can’t make a first serve or forehand to save his life. I doubt he truly wants to be remembered for shattering dozens of racquets, or for more or less admitting at numerous press conferences that he has ostensibly thrown in the towel on his way to yet another surprising defeat.

你應該多少見識MARAT 過人的一面﹐但令人惋惜的是﹐當他驚艷世人之際﹐可怕的那面也隨之浮現。我實在很訝異像薩芬這麼優秀的選手﹐另一個滿貫獎杯竟然暌違四年之久。看著他一場又一場﹐一月又一月﹐一年又一年地無法完全專注﹑起伏不定﹐怎不令人嘆息失落 ? 曾經有段時期﹐薩芬無法發出有效一發或正手致勝球﹐網球生命汲汲可危。我實在不相信他甘願只被認定為一個摔拍高手﹐或者多次在爆冷輸球後的記者會公然承認自己早已放棄….

Safin turned 26 this year. As he enters 2007, even he must know that a cat only has so many lives. He has, after all, publicly announced his intention to retire from tennis in four years. I find this rather puzzling, but perhaps it’s a way for the Russian to put a cap on his career, lower any pressures and enter what I call The Doris Day Phase of his career. I know I’m dating myself here, but Doris Day is known for her hit song, “Que Sera, Sera” - “whatever will be, will be.”

薩芬今年已經26歲了。當2007年賽季開始﹐相信他很清楚就算是九命怪貓也就剩那麼幾條命了。他亦曾經宣布自己打算四年後退役。我覺得這樣的宣布十分弔詭﹐也許俄羅斯人只是對自己的網球職業自我催眠欺騙﹐或者減輕壓力才這麼說的﹐薩芬好比進入了他生涯的”桃樂絲﹑黛” 階段﹐我知道我這麼說也透漏自己的年紀了﹐總之﹐桃樂絲﹑黛的成名曲就是” Que sera sera”--未來怎樣就怎樣吧。(JS註: 桃樂絲﹑黛是很早很早前的美國名歌星﹐以本曲成名﹐至今美國人大大小小仍琅琅上口的歌)

In other words, Safin is trying to ease the burden of expectation that’s accompanied his vast skills. The funny thing is, of course, that expectation is an illusion - it exists way outside the lines - and the only factor that truly matters for a tennis player is that singular moment defined strictly by competition. Tennis is not a beauty contest, nor judged like figure skating. It’s strictly a matter of what that player does in each match. It’s that simple – but not necessarily that easy. How Marat Safin keeps that in balance figures to make for some very interesting tennis in San Jose.

換句話說﹐薩芬試圖降低大家對他球技肯定之餘的過多期望。但有趣的是﹐這個期待本就是個幻夢﹐它跟球場那些界線沒什麼關係--因為﹐對一個網球員來說﹐場上的競爭才是大家所關切的。網球不是選美﹐也不像溜冰一樣以美的角度來評分﹐網球決定輸贏的是每一場比賽的結果。說來不複雜﹐但也不完全那麼容易。且看薩芬如何在矛盾中求取平衡﹐帶給聖荷西公開賽精彩有趣的表現吧。