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10/31/09 9:23 PM | Cheryl Murray
Marat Safin bid farewell to his Russian fans on Saturday, as his final match on Russian soil ended with a defeat at the hands of Sergiy Stakhovsky.
Saturday’s semifinal match between Marat Safin and Sergiy Stakhovsky ended in disappointment for the Russian fans hoping to see their beloved Safin for one more day.
Safin surely had his chances to get the victory. The first set was mostly controlled by Stakhovsky. The Ukrainian served at 69% (compared to Safin’s dismal 42%). Even so, the two men traded breaks of serve early in the set. With Safin serving to stay in the set at 4-5, he threw in a weak service game. In a moment’s time, Stakhovsky had the first frame of play in hand.
Safin rebounded in the second set. The Russian was able to take charge of most of the points, though at times throughout the set and match, Stakhovsky gave him difficulty at net. Safin was more convincing on his own serve. He did not face any break points, while converting one of the two he earned off of Stakhovsky.
The third set was the most tightly-contested of the match. Both men held serve easily until 4-4 on Stakhovsky’s serve. Safin earned himself a break point chance, but Stakhovsky erased it. The disappointment of missing the opportunity to take a lead in the set clearly stayed with Safin. Once again, while serving to stay in the match, the Russian was broken at 4-5.
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