Rochus def. Safin 7-6,6-4

Marat was up a break in the 2nd set 4-2. Good fight from Rochus. Safin a bit rusty- no surprise there.

Oli you make your h2h record look better! :aparty::clap2::rocker2:

marat, it was expected. Congrads Ollie.

congrats ollie, please win the tournament now... :p

good fight from marat in his first tournament back. he did better than i was expecting.

and congrats to oliv :)

:sad: :sad: :sad: . well at least he already started his season.
Rochus :mad:

Good job Ollie :worship:

Good win, Olivier.

had a feelin ollie will come out on top...im happy either of these players winning, just wish i get to see this match someday >.<

:bounce:

Marat :hysteric: :tears:

I even had illusions of a Fed-Safin semi. :mad: Oh well, it was his first tournament back after almost 7 months and given the situation, he really did better than most expected. It was good enough that he was able to make the matches competitive. Marat is back and healthy - those are the most important things.

Yeah, I'm really proud of Marat. :D

Yeah, I'm really proud of Marat. :D
All of us are proud of him. ;) :worship:


Go, Marat!!!! :yeah: :secret: To Indian Wells, man. :p

It was a good match. Close.
All the signs are good.
Well done Marat :worship:
And congrats to Ollie!

Great performance Marat :secret: better than last year, that's for sure :lol:

We are so proud of you!!!!!! :worship: :worship: welcome back Mulan Man :hug: :hug:

haha, Oli beats the giant! :D

Their matches are always fun to watch, I presume this one was fun too. Great performance from Oli! :yeah:

Hope to see Marat reach the 2nd week of Indian Wells

Fine, if Marat must lose, I'd rather it'd be Ollie :lol: :p
Well done anyway marat and :banana: OLLIE!!! :yeah:

Full match report with press conference quotes now on WWW.Inside-tennis.net

Not surprising, but still :sad:

Well done Olivier he is simply an amazing player. Olivier is only 5 foot 5 and yet his talent is incredible. Thiis is I think the second time he's beaten Safin. A very good result..Go Olivier!!!

Well done Olivier he is simply an amazing player. Olivier is only 5 foot 5 and yet his talent is incredible. Thiis is I think the second time he's beaten Safin. A very good result..Go Olivier!!!
yeah,gotta admire his talent :worship:

Marat has done better in Dubai this year than he has in the last couple of years by winning a match. ;) Besides he was playing Ollie!

Expected for one reason, Marat is comeback recently, but unexpected for the H2H
:sad:

Ollie's variation has given Marat trouble in the past. At Australian Open 2005 they played a wonderful match where Marat pulled it out in 4 (needed 3 TBs to make the distance). So no wonder that a rusty Safin loses to Ollie.
WTG, Ollie. I'd love a Fed-Ollie semi final, that would be too much talent to bear on one tennis court.

:bigclap: Oli :hearts:

still a very good comeback appearance for marat
Surprising that he will beat ND and then not beat Oli also. But this match certainly could have swung another way

Well, it's only his second match back since Cincinnati last year. Considering that he put out Davydenko all in all it was a pretty good week for Marat I think. Ollie always gives him the shits when they play, as does Santoro so it's not really surprising that he struggled.

Rome wasn't built in one day- Marat will be back.

So sorry for Marat :sad:
Congrats for Olivier

Rome wasn't built in one day- Marat will be back.
It reminds me Morcheeba's song.

You and me we're meant to be (Marat and Roland Garros) :D
Walking free in harmony
One fine day we'll fly away
Don' t you know that Rome wasn't built in a day....

It reminds me Morcheeba's song.

You and me we're meant to be (Marat and Roland Garros) :D
Walking free in harmony
One fine day we'll fly away
Don' t you know that Rome wasn't built in a day....

Do Hippos fly? :tape: ;)

haha, Oli beats the giant! :D

Their matches are always fun to watch, I presume this one was fun too. Great performance from Oli! :yeah:

Hope to see Marat reach the 2nd week of Indian Wells

The match was on Eurosport and it was indeed nice to watch! :D
Their matches against eachother are always really fun :bounce:
Ollie played some cool dropshots... :angel:

Well done, Olivier and welcome back Marat! :kiss:

well done Rochus

Well done Olli!!!

aw... Marat :hug:

Oli! :D

Good win Rochus :yeah:

Marat :sad:
at least he is back and will be in his top form soon

Do Hippos fly? :tape: ;)
Yeah! :unsure: :scared:

http://www.pfy.com/images/D258.gif

Marat played really well after such a long break. In fact, he played better here than he did in a lot of tournaments when he wasn't injured. This could mean good things during the clay season perhaps.

Tough match for Marat, good win though Ollie :yeah:

:yawn:

damn it Marat :(

Well done Rochus. Safin welcome back :)

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7224/safin8bg.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2557/rochus3nw.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5160/rochus22ej.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Oh No Marat :crying2: Good to have you back though :)

Olivier :D :D :D

Oh how I love it when he beats Safin.

I love Oli's game. I love the way he takes the ball early on the Bh side and his reliable, compact strokes. If only he were about 4 or 5 inches taller.

Well done Oli! :D
And it´s great to have Marat back :bounce:

I love Oli's game. I love the way he takes the ball early on the Bh side and his reliable, compact strokes. If only he were about 4 or 5 inches taller.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you have the chance to see him live, go and see him. He is absolutely awesome. He is so talented and apart from Federer, has the smoothest touch on the ATP-tour. Such a pity he's not a bit taller.

hopefulyy Marat can get back his match fitness & sharpness
good start for season for Rochus brothers