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Marat Safin relieved to see the back of Wimbledon after surprise exit

London: Marat Safin admits he is glad to see the back of Wimbledon after the former world number one suffered a surprise first round exit in his final appearance on the grass courts he has grown to loathe.

Safin was making his farewell to the All England Club before he retires later this year, but perhaps fittingly, the Russian’s valedictory tour was brief and typically bizarre as he was defeated 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 by American qualifier Jesse Levine.

The former Australian and US Open champion has never hidden his dislike of a surface that has left him red-faced on many of his visits to south west London.

So, when asked how he felt about playing at Wimbledon for the last time, perhaps it was no surprise Safin said: “Relieved. Pretty much relieved. It’s not the perfect way to finish the Wimbledon story but that’s life.

“It was tough for me to move on court here, especially when I’m a tall guy, who has been struggling for a couple of years with injuries.

“There haven’t been many matches here that I played well.

So I think against (Goran) Ivanisevic in 2001 when I had a chance to win it, the year he won. And last year against (Novak) Djokovic. That’s it.”

Food rules annoy Serena: Wimbledon is awash with food stalls and restaurants, but you can’t bring those tasty treats into the players’ locker rooms. And that has Serena Williams angry.

“I totally dislike rules that do NOT make sense,” the two-time champion wrote on Tuesday in a posting on her blog.

Williams said she was told of the rule on the tournament’s opening day on Monday, when she was eating before her first-round victory.

“Wow, really I thought to myself as I continued eating & of course the lady reminded me of the new rule. Again, I was in shock,” Williams wrote.

Williams noted that fruit and health bars are offered to players in the locker room. What she didn’t realize was that there is a ban on food brought from outside.

“Why have food in a room if we aren’t allowed to eat in the locker room. This rule is unfair,” she wrote. “I do not agree with this rule. Like, do they really expect me or any other player to actually walk outside all the way to the player’s lounge. That is time not spent well & I value my time.”

Johnny Perkins, a spokesman for the All England Club, said the rule barring players from bringing food into the locker rooms has been in force for nearly a decade and is designed to keep the players’ locker rooms clean.

“In the end, someone has to clear it all up,” he said. He said the rule was designed to protect players, “so they are not having to change among excess food and cartons and whatnot.”

He noted that there are facilities where players can eat.

“There’s a perfectly good restaurant,” Perkins said.

Youth is served: Kimiko Date Krumm wasn’t fazed on Tuesday by playing an opponent less than half her age, giving No. 9-seeded Caroline Wozniacki a scare before losing 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 at Wimbledon.

Date Krumm, 38, came out of retirement last year and was making her first Wimbledon appearance since 1996. Wozniacki, 18, wasn’t even born when Date Krumm made her Wimbledon debut in 1989.

Date Krumm used a clever all-court game to confound her big-hitting opponent early, then hit a screeching forehand down the line to close out the first set.

“Now in women’s tennis, everybody is taller, more powerful, more speedy,” Date Krumm said.

“But tennis, in my opinion, is more about using the head, because I don’t have so much power and (I’m) not tall. I must use my head.”

Fatigue, a thigh injury and Wozniacki eventually caught up to Date Krumm.

“I could easily have lost this match,” Wozniacki said. “She was playing really flat, coming to the net. It was really difficult for me to do anything.”

Despite the loss, Date Krumm said her comeback has been stress-free.

“I like a challenge but I don’t have ... much pressure,” she said. “So everything I can enjoy.” — AP

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