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http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2007-10-19/307.php

Who can be so foolish, so blind as to mock him?

"grendel says:
本文作者 grendel: 於上面BLOG的留言
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Safin a spoiled brat? That’s just risible. He’s one of the very few players who is absolutely open and honest. You know when you read his interviews that he is speaking the truth - there is absolutely no looking over his shoulder to whoever might be listening. He seeks to impress nobody, and care nothing for the opinions of others. He is candid about his own shortcomings, and funny about them too. Eurosport filmed him shortly before his magnificent comeback, after a long spell away due to injury, in Australia (he beat Roddick and Agassi and ran out of gas against Fed in the final). He was being questioned about his training and general conditioning, and admitted he found it tough. “Nobody likes work,” he said disarmingly. Rings kind of true, doesn’t it, for most of us. Asked recently about Davydenko and the betting imbroglio, he said he knew nothing about it and cared less. He had his own problems and had enough trouble dealing with them. None of the prurient glee of the fulminating moralist, no pompous sermonising - and above all, no pleasure in gossip. This is a man without humbug.
"薩芬是個被寵壞的小孩? " 那真是笑話。他是少數幾個完全公開又坦率的球員。當你在讀他的專訪時你知道他句句真心﹐你不必探頭探腦去瞭解聽眾到底是誰。他從不刻意給誰留下美好印象﹐也不在乎別人的意見。對於自己的缺點﹐他是那麼誠實公正﹐同時也常有趣地自嘲著那些缺點。EUROSPORT 於澳洲在他受傷﹐澳網奇跡性復出之旅前 (04年)﹐為他製作一段影片 (那次復出﹐他擊敗 RODDICK﹐ AGASSI﹐在決賽因太過勞累負於FEDERER)﹐其中他被問到休息期間的打球及體能訓練的情形﹐他承認這一切都很辛苦﹐不假思索地說著"沒人喜歡工作啦"﹔對大部份的人來說﹐心有戚戚焉﹐是實話﹐不是嗎 ? 有人問他DAVYDENKO 最近牽扯的賭搏傳聞﹐他表示對此事毫無瞭解更不在意﹐他自己的問題跟困擾都多地夠他煩心了。種種談論裡完全沒有義正言辭地顯露所謂的道德價值觀去討好誰﹑也沒有誇大虛偽的說教 - 最重要的是﹐他對道人八卦沒有興趣。這個人是個不欺瞞好樣的。

Of course, he is a serious underachiever - how could he not be, as the only talent comparable to Federer’s over the last twenty years. Of course it is a puzzle, although big men like him are prone to injury and perhaps not a lot could have been done about that. Still, there is something else. I have always seen Safin as a sort of Russian Hamlet - a man gifted with a simple love of life and yet also tortured by indecision. There seems to be huge self-doubt in his makeup. Macenroe’s old doubles partener Peter Fleming put his finger on it, I suspect, when he says that some players who are happy at the #15 mark become thoroughly alarmed if they get to, say, #5. And so on. Safin had all the attributes of a great # 1, except self-belief. At some unconscious level, he wanted nothing to do with those rareified heights. Felt uncomfortable there, as if he didn’t belong. Thus Fleming, and I buy his theory.
當然﹐他的成就遠低於他的才賦 - 怎麼會這樣﹐在過去20年﹐﹐他是唯一擁有能與FEDERER抗衡天份的人呀。自然﹐這是一個謎﹐雖然他的高大身材本來就容易導致傷病﹐或許能解釋一部分﹐但﹐還有其他的因素。在我眼裡﹐SAFIN 就像是俄羅斯的哈姆雷特 - 一個天賦異秉熱愛生命卻又終生為優柔寡斷所困的男人。似乎﹐他總是自我懷疑。Macenroe 的老雙打搭檔Peter Fleming 說﹐一些選手當他們進入前15名時﹐對於跨入...比方說前五名的門檻會時時勞記在心。薩芬具有所有成為偉大世界第一的要素﹐但就是無法相信自己。潛意識中﹐他好像不想身處於那不勝寒的高處﹐感覺很不自在﹐好像自己並不屬於那裡似的。因此﹐Fleming ,和我﹐覺得這理論應該成立吧。

People like Nadal and Djokovic are natural, fierce competitors with no fear of being #1. Too early to say, but I suspect Murray belongs there too. But Gasquet who, like Safin, has more talent than any of them, will never get there. He’s the French Hamlet. Malisse, too. Then you have players like Nalbandian and Lopez, certainly players with the raw ability to be in the top 5 or 6. Something stops them, not agonising in their case, hard to say what.
像NADAL 跟DJOKOVIC 這樣的人天生是可怕的競爭者﹐對於"稱霸" 一事無所畏懼。現在說或許太久﹐我猜 MURRARY也有這種特質。但是 GASQUET﹐有如薩芬﹐擁有比他們更優異的天份﹐卻永遠不太可能達到第一。他是法國的哈姆雷特﹐ Malisse也是。有些球員如 NALBANDIAN和LOPEZ﹐都有紮實的基本功夫足以排名前五﹑六。某些原因使他們困著﹐他們沒像前者那麼痛苦掙扎就是﹐至於是什麼原因也很難理出所以然來。

But Safin, Safin. When he was singing, he was a force of nature, glorious to behold. His tenure was brief - but whilst it lasted, there was nothing like it. Who can be so foolish, so blind as to mock him?"
但是薩芬呀﹐薩芬。當他高歌起舞時﹐他的力量是那麼渾然天成﹐賞心悅目! 他畢竟不可能在網壇待幾十年﹐即便短暫﹐只要他沒退役﹐世上找不到相似者。誰會如此愚笨﹑盲目去嘲弄輕蔑這樣的一個人呢 ?
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thank you grendel, who ever you may be
謝謝你 grendel ﹐不管你究竟是誰