Safin’s Half-Moon Play Has Ripple Effect at French Open

Maybe there should be a new nickname for Marat Safin of Russia after his latest adventure at the French Open.

Half-moon Marat?

Safin set Roland Garros abuzz Thursday night, with darkness approaching, when he partially dropped his shorts after hitting a spectacular drop shot in the fifth set against Felix Mantilla of Spain. His next move came Friday afternoon when he resumed play at 7-7 in the fifth and went on to beat Mantilla in the second-round match, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, 6-7 (4) 11-9, in 4 hours 37 minutes.

Safin, who saved one match point Thursday, had an encore. He came into the interview room and verbally torched the chair umpire and one of the tournament supervisors, saying they “tried to destroy the match” and that officials were trying to be bigger than the game.

The often-impulsive Safin received a point penalty for dropping his shorts. Earlier he had been warned for racket abuse, and Grand Slam officials announced later Friday he would be fined $500 for that action and nothing for the other incident.

This wasn’t exactly Janet Jackson material. His baggy shirt covered plenty of territory and the crowd, and even Mantilla, realized he did it to celebrate the shot. Apparently, so did those in charge of disciplinary matters.

“I felt this way,” said Safin. “I felt it was a great point for me. I felt like pulling my pants down. What’s bad about it?”

Mantilla was asked if he was surprised. “Well, surprise, yes, because it was really a crucial moment and you know it’s something,” Mantilla said. “But he also put the pants down, everybody saw his -- I don’t know the name ... the bum.”

Some of the players felt Safin should not have been given a point penalty.

“I thought that was a little uncalled for, the point penalty. It was a great match,” said Lindsay Davenport, who defeated Marissa Irvin of Santa Monica, 6-1, 6-4, in the third round Friday. “He definitely wasn’t doing it in a fit of anger. They’re always telling us to lighten up anyway.”

Safin had no regrets. “I don’t care,” he said.

Bill Babcock, administrator of the Grand Slam committee, could understand why chair umpire Carlos Bernardes Jr. assessed the point penalty.

“You can make a judgment about it,” Babcock said. “It was one of those points where the chair made a decision -- either he could let it go because it was probably in good spirit or he had to sort of issue the code of conduct to get it back under control.”

As he frequently does, Safin took on the ATP too, saying it and officials at the Grand Slam tournaments were taking the entertainment out of the game, saying they had “no clue about tennis” and that the sport was “really going down the drain.”

The ATP, which runs men’s tennis, is separate from the four Slams. Two years ago, the ATP modified its rules of conduct, largely eliminating the automatic default, relying on point and game penalties. It still can be used when there is particularly egregious behavior.

“His general thing about players expressing their personality is fine; however, I don’t remember Jack Nicklaus ever dropping his pants after making a spectacular birdie putt at the British Open,” ATP spokesperson Graeme Agars said.

Safin isn’t turning into the leader of any potential coup, but said he was putting himself on the line even if there were consequences.

“You’re not allowed to do that. You’re not allowed to do this. You’re not allowed to speak whenever you want to speak,” he said. “I’m a tennis player, but I can sacrifice myself.”

*

Tim Henman of Great Britain reached the fourth round at the French Open for the first time. Henman defeated Galo Blanco of Spain, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-2, and will play Michael Llodra of France in the round of 16. He equaled the accomplishment of his grandfather, Henry Billington, who made the fourth round here in 1939. “I’m feeling the pressure already,” Henman said, smiling.

Jie Zheng became the first Chinese woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles event, defeating Tathiana Gabrin of Italy, 5-7, 7-6 (1), 6-2. There were two mild upsets on the women’s side: Marlene Weingartner of Germany beat No. 8 Nadia Petrova of Russia, 6-3, 6-2, and Maria Sharapova of Russia defeated No. 10 Vera Zvonareva of Russia, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Another day, another retirement. It ended in tears for Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi of Israel, who had to retire because of severe cramps in the third set against No. 9 Elena Dementieva of Russia, officials said. It also looked as though she had an arm injury, showing visible pain after double-faulting on the last point before stopping. “It’s kind of disappointing for her to finish the match like that,” said Dementieva, who won 0-6, 7-6 (2), 0-1 (retired).

*

At a Glance

Day 5 highlights:

* Men’s seeded winners: No. 3 Guillermo Coria, No. 5 Carlos Moya, No. 9 Tim Henman, No. 17 Tommy Robredo, No. 20 Marat Safin (second round), No. 22 Juan Ignacio Chela.

* Men’s seeded losers: No. 11 Nicolas Massu.

* Women’s seeded winners: No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 5 Lindsay Davenport, No. 9 Elena Dementieva, No. 14 Paola Suarez, No. 18 Maria Sharapova, No. 21 Magdalena Maleeva.

* Women’s seeded losers: No. 8 Nadia Petrova, No. 10 Vera Zvonareva.

TODAY’S FEATURED MATCHES

* Jennifer Capriati (7), United States, vs. Elena Bovina (25), Russia

* Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, vs. Gustavo Kuerten (28), Brazil

* Mary Pierce (30), France, vs. Venus Williams (4), United States

* Silvija Talaja, Croatia, vs. Serena Williams (2), France

* Lleyton Hewitt (12), Australia, vs. Martin Verkerk (19), Netherlands