Djokovic vs Safin Australian Open 2005 Highlights

[TsunetaroMoriyama]

I'd love for safin to come out of retirement just to smack down djoko in the first round of some tournament. Probably won't happen

[ljiokljjp]

this was also djokovic 1ts major

[ljiokljjp]

djokovic was only 17 in this match needed to qualify, won only 3 games

[Blinx482]

I thought that djokovic used wilson racquets at the start of his career and switched to head in 2008? He's using head in this video o.O

[rogerfederer2424]

@SliderOutWide Below average volleys? lol And Djokovic "almost" has twice as many slams. 2X2=4 so i'm pretty sure that's exactly twice as much. As far as holding the number one ranking for more than 2 weeks, I guarantee you he doesn't end this year with the number one ranking. Btw, if Safin didn't play in the Federer/Nadal era he would have had a lot more slams. And yes I realize Federer and Nadal are still around now, but they used to dominate. Djoker didn't start winning til just recently

[davd1986]

@SliderOutWide Umad bro? What's next? Djokovic is better than Federer and Nadal combined? LOL. GTFO.

[MinistraSiega]

se lucieron muchachos

[IricForset]

Djokovic's forehand looks so bad

[michaeljcchen]

Wow I can see why djokovic's forehand used to be a weakness. It's almost funny to watch him hit them in this video.

[federerfreak4]

i like your hair nole

[kemar282008]

djokovic was clearly just a baseliner in these times. look at him now

[3timeMVPNash]

@kemar282008 He still is a baseliner....

[kemar282008]

@3timeMVPNash i didnt say he isnt a baseliner still. i was just saying that he didnt have much variety back then

[3timeMVPNash]

@kemar282008 He still doesn't have much variety, but all his strokes now are very strong and his serve has also improved a ton.

[iLm4R]

i remember this match.....never thought this kid would be the player he is now...

[tennisproderek]

djokovics left hand is awk when he hits a forehand. good thing he changed it.

[lilaznbballerz]

when will the commentator ever shut up?

[240set]

WHICH ONES SAFIN?!!

OR SHOULD I SAY DJOKOVIC?!!



[djoinochi]

@240set

Are you joking? They wore the same outfit.

Long hair is Safin and very short hair is Djokovic.

[baronvg]

WOW. Who knew that this skinny little 18 yr old kid would be so dominant in 2011.

[Sexiestmanalive01]

2 great entertainer and sportsmen

my fav of the ''past'' vs. my fav of the present.

btw: novak was 17 in this match

[nbss]

that was actually the debut match for Djokovic in Grand slam tournaments

[AlfieJ06]

Djokovic just won the 2011 US Open! Safin was one of my faves :)

[gscrub]

I think a 100% healthy and (heres the key) MOTIVATED Safin would beat Djoko. don't get me wrong, Djoko is doing great. I was watching a Djoko match a few weeks ago and the comentators(B. Gilbert was one of them) were talking about what players from the past could give Djoko problems. They ruled out Sampras and Agassi but said players like Borg and Safin had the game that would give Djoko problems. I believe them. Nobody in todays game (seemingly) tries to hit through Djoko and impose thier will.

[thatmusikman]

@gscrub yes. everybody calls djokovics backhand big but against safin it is just mouse. same for his forehand and serve. and the volleys. if you watch enough of safin you would see that he has incredible touch, equal to or even better than federers.

[kemar282008]

@gscrub in safin's case i know why they say that. because he is an offensive player like roger federer. roger is the only guy at the moment who is giving djokovic trouble. no matter how long nadal played the other day. nadal is always behind. when djokovic beat federer at both usopen fed was in control and djokovic had to keep his cool. so the player djokovic has as the biggest threat is roger because i think its that offensive game unlike nadals defense. safin plays offense as i said

[thatmusikman]

@Sassymui8 safin at his prime was just god. look how he annihilated 3 of the greatest players of all time at his prime. Agassi in 1998 when he was just 18, sampras in 2000 at 20, and federer in 2005 when fed was on a streak against top players. He could actually have surpassed them by far. Now look at Djokovic. He will be like roddick, extremely good for a short while, but just not good enough to sustain. So if they play the result would just be like the video youre watching now.

[thatmusikman]

@Sassymui8 safin at his prime was just god. look how he annihilated 3 of the greatest players of all time at his prime. Agassi in 1998 when he was just 18, sampras in 2000 at 20, and federer in 2005 when fed was on a streak against top players. He could actually have surpassed them by far. Now look at Djokovic. He will be like roddick, extremely good for a short while, but just not good enough to sustain. So if they play the result would just be like the video youre watching now.

[thatmusikman]

i lol at people who call djokovics backhand big

[theThumbs95]

NO WAY Djokovic at 100% would destroy safin at 100%, he'd beat almost every player ...

[davd1986]

@theThumbs95 I totally agree. They both play really similar kind of tennis, although Safin is more offensive minded, has more power, strength and his serve is bigger and better. It would be a great matchup with both at 100% and in their prime, but I am going with Safin in 4 sets!!

[DarkSephirothX32]

Safin was mad because Djokovic is wearing the same outfit as him.

[iRUSTYZz]

That scrawny little mother fucker would go on to have one of the best seasons of all time, who'd of thought.

[Edu2503]

@iRUSTYZz I would HAVE (not "of") thought.

[mrSnakeeye20]

noles forehand looks gay

[anismessi]

DJOKO 17 YEAR OLD

DJOKO SUCKS

[johnjohns65]

djokovic even then had the same haircut

[phatschtuff]

SAAAAAAAAAAAAAFIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN­ !!!!!

[gledalac1979]

why did they wear the same outfit or is adidas that blind ?

[gargarensi]

Commentator needs to shut the hell up during play

[MYHEARTMUTMINI10]

@gargarensi Russians, frenchmans and spaniards all do the same

[cookies1and1creme]

I don't think the commentator is going at it live. At 1:10 he says "And once again Marat makes a mistake" before the ball even hits the ground (and it's very close to the line)

[GyariSan]

lol the truth is even if it's today's Djokovic he would have been thrashed by Safin in this 2005 Australian Open.

[Ristomir]

@GyariSan Oh sure,Safin would lost his serve and start braking rackets.Djokovic is more mentaly stable than Marat,so 3-0 win is guaranteed.

[rounick]

@Ristomir Djokovic was no. 3 when Safin thrashed him in straights in Wimbledon 3 years ago, and he wasn't playing as well as AO 2005 which was a performance unmatched in it's artistic brutality.

[Ristomir]

@rounick Even Kevin Anderson trashed him that year,when he played worst tennis in his career,but now nobody can beat him.

[honestyize]

safin had all the answers for young djokovic's game

[GyariSan]

@honestyize he would have all answers for today's faker too

[NMtB4ev4]

@GyariSan haha and how long was Safin's biggest winning streak? How many Slams did he win? How many masters titles did he win?

[davd1986]

@NMtB4ev4 Safin had some memorable matches, was a World #1 for a few months, won 5 Masters Series events, been to 4 slam finals (won 2), has been to at least the SF at all 4 slams, won 2 DC's, was player of the year in 2000, one of the youngest ever world #1's, has beaten the likes of Courier, Sampras, Federer, Agassi, Kuerten, Hewitt, Kafelnikov, Roddick, Djokovic, Henman, Martin. Guys like Sampras, Agassi, Wilander and Courier said he was 10 GS talent. He was always injured though.

[tennisguyADNA]

man here I am commenting 6 years later...

Safin has retired, and this youngster is riding a 39-match win streak. my how things change!

[liceth87]

pobresito novak...le dieron una paliza...pero bueno ya va a ser numero 1.

[djoinochi]

Nole is always polite and good manner .

Nole used said if Safin played serious he could beat anybody.

But he didn't.

Nole learned a lot from his mistakes.

Nole was so cute and fresh.

[tennisproderek]

wait wtf. djokovic used head back then too? so he was head, then wilson, then head again?

[djoinochi]

@tennisproderek

Yes, Djokovic used Head until 2006.

[arnabc2003]

i wonder if the commentator ever runs out of breath.

[VDroid711]

once a punk, always a punk.

[Ledwix]

Wow. Djokovic's forehand and serve have changed so much since then!

[Polarcupcheck]

@Ledwix His forehand looked like Guga's back then.



[ninman58]

Safin was all like "that's what you get for wearing my threads bitch".

[fede7aq]

5:02 Little Djokovic

[Alexandahls]

this is baby djokovic. lol

[SailorVVV]

in this video djkovic is looping the racket more, but now a days he takes it up higher and straighter

[gscrub]

I believe this was Safin pre knee injury. There is definatley a difference in the way he moves in 05 and the way he moves later in 07-09. Its too bad.

[davd1986]

@gscrub This is what some people don't (didn't) realize with Safin. People thought he just mentally checked out after he won that tournament, but the fact is, he has had a number of injuries before and after 2005. We never really got to see his best on a conistent basis. If we did, I don't think Federer and Nadal would be winning as much as they have the last 6 years. Add to the fact that guys like Haas, Gasquet, Nalbandian, Berdych, Baghdatis, all underachieved, you see Fed and Nadal dominate.

[yoootooobeee]

Something about Nole's forehand preparation looks different.... cant quite figure it out though.

[APH1991]

Does anyone here know the font used for the Australian Open logo at the time?

[chibi33097]

why is his hair brown?

[SkeksisBestSongEver]

Safin volleyed well here! and gotta give a bit of credit to teen Novak for trying hanging in there lol!

[89Pleasek]

safin had such a tough draw for the championship, federer at his best in the semis, hewitt at his best in the final (+home support and big desire to win in front of his crowd), Djokovic in the 1st round lulz...

[blood4life885]

i love the contrasting serves- djokovic with ten or twelve little bounces, a high ball toss, and then *whack*

Safin with one bounce, then *boom*

[thetennisguy100]

djokovic has gone: head-wilson-head

[LoganManila]

Novak would win this GS three years after.

[iosonodella2i]

is it me or his serve has changed?

[hugopelle]

@iosonodella2i yep it changed

[Hamiltoncheater]

bad tennis

Đoković nothing but a pusher

[rondelego2]

lol are they wearing the same thing?

[hsieno]

6-0 first set? BEAST!

[ssdiothor]

I wonder what Djokovic learned from this match, because he was really getting hammered by the eventual champion.

[NMtB4ev4]

@ssdiothor learning little things like how to win points like when he blasted backhand winner 1:28

[DeanChillin279]

is novak 17 here?

[TTFAFF]

lol Nole looks sexy with that hair.

[DestroyerAlexandros]

I just realized that despite safin's other qualities he covers the court faster than anybody not named nadal or federer. no matter where he is, 3 steps and he's at the other end of the court.

[jeewalk]

wow djokers serve looks idk, choppy i guess is the word.... not like it is now

[MaratSafinVideos]

@jeewalk His serve is a complete and utter disaster right now, his serve was better 2007/08 but even in this match his serve is better than now.

[pablotjob]

djoko's just 17 on January 2005 (the month when AO is played)

[unhingedmind]

they are almost wearing the same clothes...and racket (pj and all aside)...

[DestroyerAlexandros]

@unhingedmind naaaah, safin at this time was playing the Prestige Classic and Djokovic was using the Radical

[indyk91]

@erlantennis not really you knob jockey.

[1stAjay]

...dang novak looks skinny back then...

[davd1986]

Boy, the Russian commentators just can't seem to shut up, lol!

[ShadeXH]

What's with the short rallies ending in unforced errors? Definitely not highlights.

[MaratSafinVideos]

@ShadeXH attacking tennis is generally found in short rallies, no?

quality is certainly not quantity in tennis.

[ShadeXH]

@MaratSafinVideos

Except most of those rallies are pretty unremarkable. 

[MaratSafinVideos]

@ShadeXH What do you expect? A phenomenal Safin against a new coming Djokovic.

It's not like either player hasn't proved they are capable of great tennis.

This is the type of match Marat Safin comes into knowing he's going to win, playing pretty relaxed and not even out of second gear, your comment is completely inane. 

[huangyishi]

Whoa, Djokovic's strokes look so much different nowadays.

[stylistxxx]

Ha ha , I remember this match , this was Novak very first mein draw match on atp tour and facing so good Safin at the time .. bad luck but he learned a lot since then (:

[sanoska206]

safin was a beast back in the day.

[hattrickster33]

@sanoska206 why is he so terrible now??

[DestroyerAlexandros]

royOneOne is right, Djoker was using Pro Tour 630 all the time, just painted like a Wilson racquet

[ccauffma]

they are matching hahah.

[tangjkd]

yeah. they make a cute couple if they wear this set of outfit on valentine's day. hahaha

[sepa0202]

Safin is such a brilliant sportsmen =)

[raphael1245]

o and also its cool tht djokovic used head rackets b4 he deflected to wilson

[royOneOne]

actually he used head mold when he was sponsored by wilson, it was just a wilson paintjob

[raphael1245]

since we're tlking bout rackets how many did prestige classics did safin break considering tht he painted his rackets through his head and dunlop endorsement

[tlonsinkie]

Djokovic was 17 here, but Safin also crushed him when he was age 21.

[pirocan1]

wat was novaks ranking back then?

[reefric]

novak must have been only like 17 or 18 here..

[129pieter]

Djokovic is a much better player now, his groundstrokes have a lot more power, safin wasn't able to keep up with these guys like djokovic, although he did recover well from his injury

[flenderthefunkster]

wow marat is a killer !!!

watching his matches this year ,I never saw him hitting like this

I never realized how much he had changed until now

[MaratSafinVideos]

He got injured a couple of months after this, played through the injury and made it worse, walked with a limp for 6 months and the doctors told him it would be unlikely to play pro tennis again and he hasn't been the same since.

[ParkParkParkPark]

Marat beat his ASS!

[davd1986]

The only thing Djokovic does better today is obviously his serve. He has much more experience and is (maybe not as much now days) confident, however he played a pretty good mach vs Safin there, although the score suggests otherwise. This just shows how good Safin used to be, heavy, punishing groundstrokes, really fast and nimble around the court, good volleyer, monster serve, great off the return...just a pity he got injured like a few months after this tournament, could have given fed fits.

[Radenko90]

@davd1986

Not just serve, hes better in every department, his movement is like 10 times better now, his serve and volleys are 10 times better and he improved his FH the most.

[kusta345]

wait so Djokovic had head, switched to wilson, and switched to head again? lol

[MaratSafinVideos]

He has always used Head. Many ATP tour stringers can confirm this, some people obviously haven't heard of Paintjobs.

This is the exact same case with Safin here, he's using a Prestige Classic 600 but it's paintjob is a liquidmetal prestige.

And the same with Safin when he went to Dunlop, he was still using a PC600.

[aczzz01]

i dont think so man, i mean he had this wilson raquet, that was the same tsonga had and he appeared in wilson commercials, i mean how could you have a head raquet and make wilson commercials

[MaratSafinVideos]

haha. If you are contracted with Wilson, you require to use a Wilson paintjob whether the racket is Wilson or not.

Remember Blake with Prince/Dunlop and Safin with Head/Dunlop?

[reefric]

some people just talk out of their asses..

[madmanfool9]

You couldn't be more incorrect. You probably believe you can buy his racket in the store too :)

[aczzz01]

oh im sorry

so how´s the deal??

roger´s racket isnt actually a wilson, its a prince, isnt it??

nadal´s is a wilson??

murray´s is a yonex??

del potro´s is a babolat??

[HBNplague]

Professional players generally stay with the rackets they have been playing with since they were in the juniors. Once they've starting playing ITF Futures, with few exceptions they don't switch rackets - or, at least, they stay within the brand. You can tell which rackets they are "really" playing with by looking at what they played with when they were just getting started. The players agree to play with painted rackets because they receive endorsements.

[gigatron4]

@aczzz01 As of 2009, as I recall:

Del Potro and Federer: Wilson

Nadal: babolat

Murray: don't know

hope it helps!

[kvyas2]

he gave safin head in this match

[haisoj11]

he used head before? so why then he switched back to head. he's doing well in wilson

[MaratSafinVideos]

He has always used Head, haven't you ever heard of paintjobs?

When Marat was with Dunlop, he was still using his PC600.

[haisoj11]

no he doesn't he had used wilson before.. he's using it when he won australian open. he used wilson for a long time. just search this up on google : djokovic wilson commercial.... and you'll see it there.

[MaratSafinVideos]

Are you an idiot? That's MARKETING, as I said. Safin did several Dunlop adverts and he's been using Head since he was knee high. Google has everything on it, do you think everything on Google is the truth?

Unreal.

[haisoj11]

lol i was talking about djokovic. not safin.

[MaratSafinVideos]

I know you were.

But I'm also giving an example of another player using a paintjob, you fool. There's plenty of stringers that can confirm that Djokovic has always used Head, but noobs on youtube won't know this and they will be as gullible as they come, like you.

[haisoj11]

yea... seems like he does... but i think he's using wilson as a paint job... at some match i saw a k-factor inscription in his head racquet but sometimes, he has a head inscription... he could be switching racquets during a match.

[MaratSafinVideos]

He's definitely using Head and he's been using it since he was on tour, many stringers can confirm this 100%. Even the Head racket he is "using" right now isn't what he is actually using.

[yellowboy509]

whyd djoko switch shirts mid match lol

[starshower776]

I watched this match back in 2005, and it's not that Djokovic played terribly, Safin just was absolutely at the very pinnacle of his game. This match also illustrates how good Safin's speed was back in the day. Before his knee injury, his footwork was fantastic. Now, it's probably his biggest weakness. His forehand was smoother back then, because it was effortless for him to get into position to hit it well.

[ActionRadar886]

Djokovic's game stacks up horribly against Safin's. Djokovic was actually quite good in 2005. He just got a bad draw.

[z24]

hey did anyone notice the fact that in this match Djoker was using a HEAD racquet. wow so i guess the move was a little more thought out then, switching from wilson to HEAD. but i think its still a bonehead move.

[tws112]

safin's forehand back then was much smoother and his footwork was pretty good now a days since his knee injury, he had to switch his forehand stance causing him to his flat and therefore generating more unforced errors

[SoooBlue]

Marat played such a good match, Djokovic, playing the way he was, could have beaten quite a few other players in the draw. He really wasn't playing badly. Gave a good account of himself that night, too bad he's a dickhead.

[bauerq3333]

Il avit déjà ce revers extroardinaire le Djoke !! Merci pour cette video très intéressante :d !!

[davd1986]

I'm still shocked by his first round match vs Levine last week, absolutely shocked he didn't put up a better fight. I realize it's his least favorite surface, but defending last year's points, c'mon, try to assert yourself a little bit more. I had him penciled against Murray in the 4th round, but....

[rockerduff1231]

clay is his least favorite

[Federer4president]

marat grew up playing tennis in valencia, in clay! his least favorite surface is grass as he says all wimbledons!

[SoooBlue]

He isn't the player he was due to a very bad injury in 2005, you can't count on him to just zoom to the 4th round. His movement is so bad now and his forehand is a huge liability. No wonder Marat is quitting at the end of the year.

[davd1986]

You are definitely right. It has been like that since 2005, but for some reason I had a feeling like he might have another good wimbledon run in him. And he actually had decent matches earlier in the year, he just choked 3-4 of them away, otherwise he could still be in the top 20. Maybe being a fan I was 'hoping,' than anything else. Here's 'hoping' he does something special at the hardcourt season, even though his forehand and movement (like you said) isn't anywhere near what it used to be.

[SoooBlue]

Well those matches he choked away hugely in Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome wouldn't really have saved his ranking, if he won them, unless he did something really special in each tournament. He had too many points to defend at Wimbledon which was never going to happen. I doubt he will do something decent later this year but it would be great if he did.

[rujulka]

its so pity marat isnt playing this way anymore...(((