TSAR IN HIS COUNTRY
俄羅斯的沙皇

An article from Monday's L'Equipe
星期一俄羅斯專文

Marat Safin finally allowed Russian to win the Davis Cup for the first time on home soil.

Nalbandian had leveled Russia and Argentina at the beginning of the afternoon, taking advantage of Davydenko’s extreme tension. (6-2 6-2 4-6 6-4) but Marat Safin was able to bring his country the second Davis Cup of its history, dominating Acasuso in the decisive fifth rubber (6-3 3-6 6-3 7-6)

He bounced out of his chair and sprinted towards Marat Safin who had just given Russia its second Davis Cup. More exactly, he got up off his bench (a bit) animatedly and trotted towards his leader, who he then hugged, not by half.

Even if tonicity is not his strength, Shamil Taripchev, at 58 years old, is as of yesterday, the only captain of all time to have won both the Davis and Fed Cups more than once and all in the last five seasons. Proof not only of the health and density of Russian tennis but also of Taripischev’s skill at bringing the best out of his players when it matters most.

Nevertheless there had been a doubt about Tarpischev’s clairvoyance during this final, which was fittingly concluded by Marat Safin, without trembling, in the decisive fifth rubber against Jose Acasuso.

Davydenko Frozen

Thrown in as a replacement for Juan Ignacio Chela in the first decisive fifth rubber of his career, Acasuso, 24 years old and ranked 27th in the world, despite a solid all round performance, proved to be too tender to manage both the historical weight of the match, which would have given his country its first ever Davis Cup, and the power of an adversary that had banished the frustration caused by the surface, which had parasite-ed the beginning of his weekend.

Safin complained a lot on Friday about the surface chosen by his captain for this final. He implicitly attributed his defeat to Nalbandian, to his inability to move on the carpet provided by a Croatian friend of Taripischev’s. Last night, no one wanted to hear any more about that story which had turned into a minor detail.

“One of the keys to the final was the argument Marat had with Tarpischev Friday night, “ Sasha Volkov, Russian team coach and Safin’s own on again off again coach. “After that, Marat stopped complaining and got on with playing tennis. It’s a simple as that. And since he is a great fighter, he was able to win it for us.”

For the job to fall to Safin, Nalbandian had to first put the two teams level by beating Davydenko, earlier in the afternoon at the term of a match that he controlled by 90%. The only minor blip came between 4-4 in the third and 2-0 to Davydenko in the fourth. The 8 ranked player showed himself to be fresher and more solid than the number 3.

“As soon as I put my feet on the court, I felt weak like I’ve never felt before.” Davydenko admitted after his loss. “I couldn’t feel my muscles or the ball. I even thought I would lose in three sets. I tried to listen to my brother who was talking to me but no one could do anything to help me in that situation. It was like I was frozen. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

“It’s true that he helped me a lot and that I was a bit too passive in the third.” added Nalbandian “But I never felt worried in this match.”

He would find less reasons to be serene coming out of his press conference and joining the Argentine team courtside.

Against an Acasuso who had never played a match with even half the importance of this one, and who needed time to measure the event, Safin began the decisive fifth rubber on a roll, breaking right away and serving out the first set.

Safin remembered…

The Russian had won the last three fifth rubbers that he’d played in Davis Cup and never did the pressure tied to this eventual collective sudden death make him lose the plot. There was a minor distraction in the middle of the second set, where he let two break points slide and then conceded his own serve right after. But the loss of the second set was just a detail.

Acasuso’s real chance came in the third set where he recovered a break at 2-4. His inexperience showed as he allowed Safin to break again and serve out the third set, avoiding thus that any doubt should install itself in Safin’s spirit.

At 2 sets to 1, the match turned into a demonstration of unstoppable serves. In twelve games only three points were won by the returners. But in the tie break, Safin, zero titles since the Australian Open in 2005, remembered what it’s like to force fate in the important moments. A backhand winner offered him the mini break. He made the error on his first match point but Acasuso returned the favor netting a forehand on the next one, provoking the delirium of the Russian team who pounced on Safin to lift him up in triumph.

And even coming from further away most of them got to him before Tarpishev.