NEW YORK: Goliath beat David this time, as towering Marat Safin eliminated diminutive Olivier Rochus 6-3 6-2 6-3 on Monday to reach the fourth round of the US Open.
According to recent form, the third round result was something of an upset as the 104th-ranked Safin has struggled through an injury-plagued year, while the 26th-ranked Belgium has had a strong season including a win in Munich.
Safin, the 2000 Open champion and former world number one, has seen his ranking plunge since suffering a knee injury, and has always had trouble against soft-hitting opponents.
“He's a very uncomfortable player for me,” said 6-foot-4 Safin, who had lost two meetings against the 5-foot-5 Rochus this year.
“A lot of people underestimate him. Of course everybody looks and nobody talks about it, but everybody looks at his height.
“That has nothing to do with it. Jaime Yzaga, if you remember, used to be a great player. He beat Sampras and others. Rochus, he knows how to play tennis.”
Safin asked for a little understanding for big guys like himself.
“He has been around. He has experience. He's moving very well. He reads the game very well. He can hit off both sides. Returns well. Good volleys. Anticipation is amazing. Good touch. I don't understand why people still think that the big guys they should beat the small guys.”
Safin likened Rochus to another player that usually gives him trouble -- France's Fabrice Santoro, who has beaten the big Russian seven out of nine times relying on slices, spins and change of pace.
“He has a kind of Santoro game. Because if you start to play his game, he moves you around, he puts you at his pace -- slice, dropshots, hitting hard, hitting slow, a lot of variation in his game. So it's pretty difficult to find your rhythm once you start to play his game.”
Safin played a solid match against the tricky Rochus, limiting his unforced errors to 25, while cracking 40 winners in the 90-minute victory.
The 26-year-old Russian next meets 14th seed Tommy Haas of Germany, who won a fifth-set tiebreaker against American Robby Ginepri to advance.
