Friday October 13th
The morning was not the best - the toilet in the apartment is still broken. It is hard to imagine something more uncomfortable than a broken toilet. I called my father again, asked me to come and fix it. There is no money for plumbing. I said that I gave them all to this pretty architect yesterday.
Had breakfast with my sister and Allan. We went to the same cafe as the previous three days. Before that, I won, so I hope this habit will help me this time too.
Yes, I told you that my name has been considered indecent obscenity for some time? At least the referee of the previous match thinks so. When I shouted “Marat” several times during difficult moments, he gave me a warning.
After breakfast I went to Olimpiyskiy and trained a little. I had lunch there with Sasha Volkov, his ex-wife and child, as well as several of our mutual friends.
Before yesterday's match, I was very worried, because Janko Tipsarevich is a strong opponent. At a recent tournament in France, he beat several favorites and here, in Moscow, unexpectedly for many reached the semifinals.
Before the game, I decided to count rating points and realized that already this year I could very well rise to the first fifty. This gave me confidence, and Tipsarevich beat in three sets. Now in the semifinals I will play with compatriot Igor Kunitsyn. I know this guy for many years and I’m sure it will be a very interesting match that will decorate the tournament. Surely his winner in the final will meet with Nikolai Davydenko. I do not want to offend his rival in the semi-finals Fabrice Santoro, but Nikolai is now an objective favorite of the tournament.
I can’t tell you too much interesting today, because I spent half a day in a cafe, another half a day in the locker room and was practically protected from the outside world.
I’m still very worried that I can’t finish the tournament due to a lack of rackets. Out of eight, I have only four left. He broke two in training with Davydenko, one in a match with Brachchali, and one more with Tipsarevich. You have to be careful.
But the judge on the tower today was magnificent. By the way, he is from Italy. The last two weeks very often come across a lot that is connected with this country. I even began to suspect that it was no coincidence.
It is half past eleven at night, and the brain has practically stopped working. He was too nervous during the game, and therefore the victory was hard. I will try to draw the right conclusions ...
Translation by Andrey IVANTSOV