Champion Federer wary of potentially "unstoppable" Safin
Thursday, 03 Jul 2008 21:44
Marat Safin is one of the most unpredictable players around
Roger Federer has described his Wimbledon semi-final opponent Marat Safin as someone who can be "unstoppable" when on form.
The five-time Wimbledon champion has an 8-2 win/loss record against the big-hitting Safin, but Federer is not underestimating the Russian and still remembers their famous Australian Open semi-final match in 2005.
Federer again went into that semi-final as the odds on favourite to win, but Safin was in inspirational form winning 9-7 in the fifth set, before going onto beat Lleyton Hewitt in the final.
"He's beaten me on big occasions in the past, so I will not underestimate him, especially not in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam," said Federer.
"He's finally showing again what he can do. It's just quite surprising he does it here at Wimbledon in some ways, because he used to dislike playing on grass.
"Last year I wasn't happy to see Safin in my draw. I'm never happy (when he is) and he probably knows that. I have to be very careful on Friday - once Safin's on a roll, he's quite unstoppable."
Safin, meanwhile, played down his chances of causing an upset claiming that "to beat Federer you need to be Nadal and run around like a rabbit and hit winners from all over the place. It's just a little bit too difficult".