It seems that Wimbledon has had its first great shock of the week; Russian ace Marat Safin has defeated third seed Novak Djokovic in straight sets. The former world number one lost 6-4 7-6 6-2 on Centre Court, it was a huge shock as many thought that the young Serbian could become Wimbledon Champion this year.
When the match got under way Djokovic looked out of sorts from the start, it seems that he left his talent for tennis at home. Safin did not need an excuse to capitalise on this and powered his way to victory. Safin said after the match “For me to beat Djokovic on Centre Court, especially on this surface, is a great match.” He also added I was still nervous because I have not won this type of match for a long time. I had to concentrate from the beginning and take my opportunities because he is the one under pressure, trying to be number one in the world at the end of the year.”
Safin has only won back-to-back matches twice in this 2008 tour, but this seemed like an easy game for him. He took command from the start of the game, he broke Djokovic’s serve twice and performed some superb strokes. Novak Djokovic, who normally takes command of a match, was to blame for his poor performance, his fourth double-fault gifted Safin the initial break, after breaking straight back.
So now one of the big players is out of the tournament, this is one less big player that Andy Murray has to meet if he wins his match today.
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