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Q. Do you remember the match point that Federer had, how did you lob him, and do you think he had the time to pass you or he tried to hit the passing shot between the legs?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, of course I remember that point. Just I was a little bit -- I was lucky. To be honest, I have to say that I was lucky. But I had no other choice. I couldn't go -- from the dropshot, I couldn't go anywhere, because I just lob him, and he was not getting there in position to make a passing shot. So the only chance he had to play between the legs.

But it could work also. He had a chance.

Q. Has this been your most difficult match ever, I mean, in the past two or three years?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. A little bit, yeah. After that I couldn't take my match points. To come back and still fight to win, it's a little bit difficult because psychologically you're little bit -- you're upset, you already had your chances. Because normally it says like if you don't take your chances, another person will take it.

So for some reason I found the power, you know, to fight and try to wait for my opportunities, and eventually they came, even though it took me like four match points - more, so. Five, six. It's enough match points.

But also have to understand that I'm not playing against just a simple player. It's just No. 1 in the world, Roger. And you have to really work the point. You cannot do anything, you cannot go for the shot, even though that I tried to go, you know, on my serve. I went down the line, like it didn't work. So it's a little bit -- it's too much pressure. Too much pressure even though that -- when you have a match point, because you really have to build the point to win it.

Q. Was it distracting, the fact that he was somehow injured or seemed to be somehow injured at the end, or you didn't think it was?

MARAT SAFIN: No, I mean, everybody's allowed to take time off. Maybe he had something. I think he's not type of guy to stop the time this way. But doesn't really matter. I went to the toilet. We're allowed to do that. We spend there for four hours, so basically everybody needs rest, some to have extra time.

Q. Are you in better position now than you were a year ago going into the final, as far as yourself, mental, physical?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. But hopefully I'll have enough energy to be in good shape in the final and to be able to fight. Because even though that I took No. 1 in the world, here it doesn't mean that I'm the favorite in the final. Just other players, Roddick is in great shape, Hewitt is playing -- if Hewitt will be in the finals, he going to play with his home crowd. So it's not going to be easy at all. So you have to be really prepared for that.

Q. Was it a little bit awkward feeling that you beat Roger, and you don't have a trophy yet?

MARAT SAFIN: That should be this way actually. That should be -- that should be the final from last year, I guess. No matter what, if you would won this way, you would have so many -- if you won this match, that's fair enough. But last year, I mean, I'm not taking any credit from him at all, but I was just -- had no chance last year.

Just this how it should be the final, actually.

Q. How much of the work that you did over the summer with your new coach was actually built around building up to beat Roger, with Roger as the standard in tennis?

MARAT SAFIN: Roger, he brought the tennis a little bit -- one level higher. So if you really want to compete, to be able to be close to him, at least to have a chance to compete against him, you really have to see how to improve the game so you'll be able to, you know, to play with him, to have a chance at least to make a difficult match. Because normally he toys with everybody. With all respect to other players, he does whatever he wants on the court against them. So that's why I need the job of the coach is to improve and to try to be as close as you can to Roger.

And he put tennis, you know, the bar very high - very high. It's incredible what kind of game he can play.

Q. Was there any advice from Peter Lundgren that helped you more than usual today?

MARAT SAFIN: No, nothing really. Nothing really new. You know, I played against him many times, so basically I know what to do. And for some reason I was a little bit not -- against him, never I felt comfortable on the court.

Today after the first set I was little bit -- at the beginning of the first set, I was very nervous, I couldn't find really my game because just for some reason didn't feel myself -- I didn't feel comfortable at all.

Then with the second set, I started to find my game and I knew already what he doesn't like and where to push him. At the end of the day, it worked.

Q. (Inaudible)?

MARAT SAFIN: That's the question that everybody wants to hear the answer. But I'm not going to tell (smiling). I mean, I keep it for me.

But I'm sure the players, probably some of the players that saw the match, so basically they know and they saw it in the match.

Q. How can you describe this win, given today is your birthday, and also beating world No. 1?

MARAT SAFIN: How can I describe? Great. Great. I just cannot find any other words to describe it. But I'm still here on the courts, you know, talking to you guys, and it's already almost 1:00 in the morning, so basically maybe I'll have a chance to get to my room and have a glass of champagne.

Q. Which one do you prefer, Roddick's power or Hewitt's fighting spirit?

MARAT SAFIN: They're both tough. I mean, they're both tough. Hewitt's going to be -- he's just -- you know, he going to fight every single ball. He will have the crowd behind him.

And Roddick, the way he's serving, the way he's playing right now, he's in great shape. He's serving really, really good. So it doesn't like really matter. It's just different types of game. But just it's the final. It's changing a lot, but I don't know really who do I prefer or what is better for me.

Q. Really?

MARAT SAFIN: Really.

Q. When you go back after a match like this, you would be wound up, sky high. How do you get yourself down to earth?

MARAT SAFIN: I'm trying. I'm trying. After these kind of matches, you need some time for yourself to be able to sit down, to be able to relax, because it's like there's so much adrenaline inside of you, just sometimes it's really difficult to talk because to find the right things to say, because there's so many thoughts, you have so many emotions inside of you.

So basically it's -- you have to let it go. And sometimes it's just better for you to get home and be by yourself for half an hour just to relax, because you are a little bit so uptight, and adrenaline just keeps on pushing.

Q. Is there a victory more overwhelming to you than the semifinal last year against Agassi?

MARAT SAFIN: I think this one. I would pick this one. It's just more -- for me it's more valuable - without taking any credit, of course, from Andre. But this -- I have to say is a little bit different story, because last year I was coming from a long time being injured, and for me any win would be -- was a surprise, especially beating Agassi of course in five sets.

But here I'm playing against No. 1 in the world, that he lost only six matches last year. And you're playing against him in semifinals, and he didn't lose a match till this year. So it's a little bit -- it's a little bit -- it's a different story. I think this one is more valuable for me.

Q. Last year you celebrated your birthday by winning against Agassi, then you lost the final. What do you have to do differently this year the day before the final than the other two times here?

MARAT SAFIN: Just they were little bit different finals. After I made the first final, I just was really nervous because I didn't have so much experience, you know. Like was a little bit -- was a little bit - how to say - didn't expect being in a final, especially against Johansson. Supposedly I was supposed to be a favorite and win this title, and I couldn't deal with the pressure at all. So it was a little bit too difficult for me.

Last year, just I run out of gas, and I couldn't believe either that I'm going to win this time. But now it's a little bit different story. I had two bad experience in the final, so probably I will take -- I will be really careful and I will really take it really seriously and try to be prepared as much as I can.

Q. You have the reputation of being such a volatile spirit. How do you explain such a good record on five-setters?

MARAT SAFIN: That really is the question I can't find the right answer, you know. But just the five sets is kind of also lottery. I mean, you have to really -- it can happen anything.

Q. So you're a lucky guy?

MARAT SAFIN: With experience. Let's put it this way: lucky guy with experience.

Q. How much of an advantage do you think you'll have having that extra day off, particularly over Hewitt, if you were to play him? He may be on court for 18 hours or so.

MARAT SAFIN: It's actually a big advantage because I need -- it would be great to have two days off because all the time I spent today and I was running, you know, really it was one of the toughest matches I ever had in my life. I need time to recover, to be able to, you know, to be fit again and be fresh for the final. Otherwise if I have only one day, it's a little bit difficult to recover.

Q. So if Lleyton was to win tomorrow night, he's going to be in the same position you were last year?

MARAT SAFIN: That sucks, I know. But that's life (smiling).

Q. Do you remember when was the last time you didn't convert six match points?

MARAT SAFIN: Probably in the Juniors, and I even lost that match I think. So, yeah. So hopefully will never happen again because really -- it's really tough to come back, you know, after such a -- so many -- so many untaken opportunities, that you really start to believe, you know, that's it, your chances are gone, wait for his chances, and you have no chance to win it.

And I proved to myself that even though I couldn't take my chances, there still be another chance if you keep on going and keep on waiting and keep on just hanging in there. It will come. It will come. If you really want it, if you really deserve it, it will come.

Q. When did it start to come around for you? You were down 4 1 in the third set.


MARAT SAFIN: Actually, it was getting better after the first set actually. But even though that I was 4 1 down, but it was a little bit easier, you know, because I was waiting for opportunities, even though that I was a little bit scared, I was nervous, and I couldn't do much over there. But I still had already the hope that I can turn around the match.
But after the first set it was like I couldn't believe that I could play so badly and I could be so nervous and I couldn't just do anything against it. But then I won the second set even though, like I said, and third set. But still, I was hoping.

Q. You cried out in this despair at one point in the third set, "What can I do?" That wasn't your entire quote.


MARAT SAFIN: Of course, you get pissed. You get pissed at yourself because you can see you are so close to win the title. At the same time you are very far away. Like it's going further and further away from you.
And just you can see that you can play completely different tennis, you can play better, much better tennis than I was doing before 4 1. In the third set, just all of a sudden, it all turn around completely in a way I couldn't expect, actually.
Because all of a sudden he made a couple of mistakes, I was a little bit lucky at some point, then again, the confidence again, I was back in the game because I was not break down anymore and I was already playing better and better with more confidence.
And once I got back the break, I could go for a little bit more and could just I could risk it a little bit more than before. Because before I was really passive and I couldn't do much. I was missing all around. I couldn't serve. I couldn't run. I couldn't hit one down the line properly to open the court. Just I was so disappointed, I was just I was really pissed at myself.

Q. It's been a long time since 2000 when you won the US Open. Were you beginning to think that it might not happen again?


MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, it's just in a way more psychological thing. Just it comes because you can 2000, I have to forget about the final in 2000 because everything came so easy and it came in the most unexpectable (sic) way. Then I found myself that I lost two finals, basically two finals here. The first final I should have won. At least in the second one I should have little bit more chances than that, in the first set against Federer.
And just you start to have doubts with yourself, you know, like really I could do this or not. Because it's the third time third time in a final, you playing against Hewitt, you beat Roger Federer. Basically you have a huge chance to beat him. Last time I beat him quite comfortable even though we played in Paris and second set was really tough. But I was really feeling that I can beat him.
Then just I just get so nervous, get so uptight because it's last match. You understand the situation. It's last match, you have to give your best, and I don't want to lose it because then it's like nobody cares about the finalist basically. For me, it's just little bit third time to be finalist and not winning a Grand Slam, it will be like really disappointment huge one.
So for me, that win was just a kind of a relief.

Q. Having beaten Roger Federer, adding a second Grand Slam, is getting to No. 1 for a sustained period of time a particular goal, or you just take it as it comes?


MARAT SAFIN: I take it as it comes. I mean, like you cannot expect you cannot have a lot of expectations. Still long way to go. Of course, it's a huge win. Just for yourself, for your ego, for your career, for your portfolio, to win Australian Open, it's huge thing.
But still, you know, you cannot just think that you can you might be finishing the year No. 1. Just one of the stages that you are getting a little bit closer, and you are working. Basically you are getting there. But still long way to go. You cannot just you have to take it really easy, keep on working, keep on doing the right things, and listen to the coach, I mean, and just keep on working. It's still long way to go until the end of the season where you can see who gonna be No. 1, who gonna be No. 2 and so on.

Q. What has your coach brought to your game?


MARAT SAFIN: Just really to believe in yourself. I never believe in myself before at all, until I start to work with him. Took us little bit longer time than usually people need to come up with results. But it went right, went in the right way. We worked really hard. We communicate really well. He understood who I am and I understood what he wants from me. It like took us basically four or five months before the results came. But then once the results came, they are there. They are continuing to come.
You just he makes me believe that I can be a good player and I don't have so much doubts about myself, about my tennis. Of course, we're not talking about this match today particularly, because it's I guess completely different story. It's a final of a Grand Slam, you know. Just like I said before, it's little bit different story. But I think it's just in other matches I am a little bit more calm and more confident in a way.

Q. How come you didn't believe in yourself when you had the results you had?


MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, but it just it's a little bit difficult because once you have bad losses, like when people start to think you're not it's a public opinion, basically. Because the people that speak, they speak, you listen. The rumors, once it gets into your head, it's difficult to accept and you really start to believe that maybe it's who I am, you know. I have a talent, I'm a good player, but not good enough to be where I want to be. You can just lose to anybody, you can beat anybody, but that's it. They say that's who you are, and it's the maximum you can get.
Just it's little bit disappointing, you know, for the person like me to hear that and really to believe in that because I really start to believe that, you know, like that's it, that's just who I am.

Q. How about believing in Wimbledon?


MARAT SAFIN: That's a different story. Wimbledon, is not my fav but, you see, the people, they interpret like what I said at Wimbledon, they took it to such extreme way. So basically all the headlines, like for one day I was so famous because I said something which is has nothing to do with the tournament, has nothing to do with anything around the tournament. Just I said my opinion that I don't like the surface, I cannot play on that surface, and I feel like I can't waste my time, my energy on that surface. That's it.
It's my opinion. I didn't say anything wrong. I didn't say anything bad about the Wimbledon. But just, you know, like I am feeling that I can't is not my surface. For some people, they cannot play on clay. Some people, they cannot play on hard court. So me, I can't.
It's more psychological, of course. But just even though that I had a good result one year, but I don't I don't feel comfortable on that surface. That's it.

Q. How important for you is to have Walt Landers on your team?


MARAT SAFIN: Uhm...

Q. He worked with great tennis players in the past?


MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, that I know already. I have to admit that the job he is doing, he's really good. He's an incredible masseuse, and I have to admit that, even though he is... You know what I mean (smiling), you know.
But he's really good professional. He's a great, great hands. And he really can recover any person just in a matter of just day, hours, because he knows the body really well and he just he's good what he does, I have to admit.

Q. You played Lleyton 10 times before. Has he ever retrieved as well as he did tonight? He was running all over town to get balls.


MARAT SAFIN: He was there. He was there. He was running. But to be honest, I think he little bit run out of gas today. At the end, you know, he saw his opportunity, but then something went when I got the break in the third set, he just something happened inside of him that he didn't believe anymore that he can win that match, and he start to miss. I really felt that he's not as fast as he could be.
Just he couldn't you feeling these things, you know. Like when you play against him, he's just everywhere. And today he was missing the extra step that normally he makes with the passing shots, with everything, anticipation, all these things, with the lobs, just everything, just an extra step. I could feel it.
And then the fourth set, I think he just he couldn't he couldn't handle it, I think.

Q. When he double faulted to end the third set, was that a beautiful sight?


MARAT SAFIN: Just I was praying for that (smiling). I was praying. I was praying because I really needed that point. I needed a present. I need a present, because otherwise, you know, like it's too much. It was such a relief for me. It was, yeah, just great present and right time.

Q. You talked about your nerves. Is that something that gets easier? The more Grand Slam finals that you play in, can you control it better and go on to win lots of Grand Slams? Or will you always become nervous, is that just part of you?


MARAT SAFIN: Well, I hope not. Hopefully I will get to the final and hopefully I will have the opportunity to be in the final and have a chance to win the final.
But, of course, it's little bit, like I said, I already lost two of them here. For me, last time I won a Grand Slam was in 2000. People start to tell you that I will never win again. "He's a good player, but he's not a winner of Grand Slams because Federer is there, Roddick is there, Hewitt is all the time very close to the finals."
Just like I said, it was such a relief. So hopefully it will help me a lot for next time. Even though I didn't play such great tennis like I played in 2000, today especially first set, but it really gave me the hope and to believe in the confidence. You know that even though if you are not playing really well in the final, it doesn't really matter. You can, just by fighting and taking your chances, you can win it.

Q. You talked about your self doubts. Does this trophy mean more to you than the 2000 US Open four years ago?


MARAT SAFIN: I don't understand the question.

Q. Is this more special, this victory?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, yeah.

Q. Than the US Open because of your doubts?


MARAT SAFIN: No, 2000 came up just so I didn't expect that. It was against Sampras. Nobody really cared. I wasn't the favorite so I had no pressure whatsoever. Even though if I would make it, lose three sets, they would say, "Great tournament, well done. You know, you were great, you played great tennis, but he's Pete Sampras." So basically no pressure whatsoever.
But now, right now, I am 25. I'm playing against Hewitt. I mean, at least you have to have the opportunity to win it, at least have a chance. It's like you go there and you lose first set 6 1, then, you know, like you start to think, "This is not my day. The way I'm playing is ridiculous. Just the people that came here to see that?"
You start to really, you know, I like eating yourself. But then you start to really be a little bit more selfish and try to find a way out of there. And I found it. I was like really much I was much happier than in 2000, that's for sure, because I get over it.

Q. Will you give Wimbledon another go this year? Will you play Wimbledon this year?


MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, but not with so many expectations. Like every year I'm coming and I'm practicing, I'm spending so much time on the practice court and trying to play on that surface. But all of a sudden you come play the first round and lose to the guys that didn't even don't know how even get to the main draw (smiling).

Q. It's been such a long time between titles for you, major titles. Was there a time when you sort of thought, "Maybe I'm never going to win another major again"?


MARAT SAFIN: Yeah.

Q. When was that?


MARAT SAFIN: From the first final that I didn't win against Johansson, the first final. And then I couldn't see myself winning the Grand Slams anymore. Just I couldn't, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I didn't believe. And just I was actually, I (inaudible) myself I'm good enough what I am, but definitely not for winning Grand Slams. I was once even in semifinals of French Open, but even though that I didn't believe I can win it. I lost to two semifinals because I just couldn't handle the pressure. You need to believe in yourself, and I didn't.

Q. How much more meaning does this title have because you beat Roger as well en route to the title?


MARAT SAFIN: It's a huge confidence. You get a huge confidence because, I mean, Roger, when was last time he lost a match? I don't think he really even lose a match in the practice. So for me it's like was I was very close in Houston. I was really close. I felt it like I was really close. If I would win the second set, I would have a chance to beat him. Then I saw opportunity here. Why not? I mean, he's a great player, but at least you should have a chance. You should take your chances, because, you know, I felt like I can compete with him. I really felt. Also I had no pressure basically because he's No. 1 in the world, he's the favorite, he gonna win the title if he gonna beat me. He gonna win it.
So once you beat him, and then you beat Lleyton, so it's like you get so much confidence in yourself that you really can play great, you can win big titles and you can beat huge players in the finals and semifinals.

Q. Yesterday you were wondering what was going into your head as far as partying goes. What has entered your head tonight? What's on the agenda?


MARAT SAFIN: You guys, I don't know what time is it right now (smiling). I still have to do a lot of TVs, so basically I need to get home a little bit and stay with close friends and try to, you know, calm down and have some drinks and to just take it easy.

Q. Nightclub?


MARAT SAFIN: I'm starting to be old already for this (laughing).

Q. You have many messages of congratulations yet?
MARAT SAFIN: No, I didn't open the phone, not yet.

Q. What's the plan for the next few days?


MARAT SAFIN: I have to fly to Moscow, because I spend already one month here. It's enough. It's a great place, but I'm missing my home. I'm flying tomorrow.

Q. You go back tomorrow?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, yeah.

Q. Now that you believe in yourself, what do you want to achieve in the future?


MARAT SAFIN: Whatever comes. But it was such you cannot I mean, today it was a relief for me. Two Grand Slams, it's already something. One Grand Slam, you can win by mistake, you know, like I did in 2000 (smiling). It was a mistake, actually.
But this one, I worked really hard for that. It was more working Grand Slam. It was a relief, so basically I would love to yeah, I would love to win a couple of more. I think I have a chance if I am continuing this way. If Peter, he will stick around with me and he will want to work with me for a bit longer, I think I can make it. Then of course I cannot just say that I am fighting for No. 1. Of course, if I have the opportunity to become No. 1 in the world, I would love to achieve it, but I already was. But, you know, I would love to. Of course I would love to feel the same feeling that I had before, to remember it. But I want concentrate a little bit more on the Grand Slams, I think.

Q. Is this surface your best chance out of the four?


MARAT SAFIN: I really find this really suits my game because the bounce is really high. Is not really fast. Just, yeah.

Q. You were talking a lot to the umpire, and then there was this warning that seemed to change the third set. Do you feel that he was put off by the warning?


MARAT SAFIN: Lleyton?

Q. Yes.


MARAT SAFIN: No. Just like that just happens. But I didn't really argue with him. I just was talking like, you know, just talking. I know him since long time, this umpire. And, I mean, double fault, it was like it was it came out of nowhere. And I understand why Lleyton was pissed with the linesman. With all the respect to the linesman that are in Australia, you don't call foot fault on first serve on an ace.
But thanks to him, I had a chance like to break Lleyton. Lleyton, he got the warning. But just I don't think it was nothing really special things, you know, to make a sense and just turn around completely the game.

Q. You seem to play better when you get the aggression out and throw your racquet down. It seems to be a pattern that your game turns when you show that side of your emotions.


MARAT SAFIN: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Q. Can you explain a little bit about that?


MARAT SAFIN: No, because you cannot you cannot keep it all the time. Sometimes you feeling like it's really eating inside of you, something, and you have to let it go because you cannot handle the pressure. Like today, I could not handle the pressure. I was just swelling, swelling until just I snapped because I couldn't take it anymore because it was enough. You know, and then it was a relief. I could at least play, play tennis, because before, what I was doing, I couldn't call it tennis.
And sometimes it helps, but sometimes of course it can be dangerous for your game.

Q. Seems to help more often than not?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, yeah, but sometimes it doesn't.

Q. Like when you crush in the semifinal against Federer?


MARAT SAFIN: I don't understand why all the people, they thought that was like really bother me, because the ball bounced really far away from the back. The moment I was hitting the ball, the back was falling so I couldn't concentrate on the ball. That's just why really it piss me off. And the people, they really I guess they believe that this bug should live forever, but it's just kind of a bug that lives only one night.

Q. Other people would boo, but because you did it, people were laughing. Do you have any explanation for that?


MARAT SAFIN: Good sense of humor (smiling).

JULY-AUGUST 2005 OF A RUSSIAN “MEDVED” (“THE BEAR”)

By Sergey Shachin

“He sincerely admits his mistakes. He smashes racquets when angry at himself. He curses himself in Russian, English and Spanish when does silly mistakes on court. He pretends to cry when he hits the ball into the net. In order to celebrate a win of a vivid point at Roland Garros he even pulled his pants down…”

This is how a famous USA Today journalist Gils Leeber sees Marat Safin. But why have we started the story about our compatriot with a quote from a foreign periodical? That’s because from a while back Marat has been boycotting Russian press. This is how he explains it: “Russia is a very particular country. Our people know no limits. Today they love you to death, tomorrow they’re throwing stones at you. They beg for an interview and when you give one they turn everything inside out and make you look like a monster. One thing I can’t understand is WHY they do it. Are they trying to increase their popularity or something? Anyway, I recommend watching your step in Russia. Here they won’t help you get up, what’s worse they’ll probably push you in the back, too”.

This is on one side. On the other side Safin has a beautiful house in Valencia and an apartment in Monte Carlo. But on any given occasion Marat rushes to Moscow where he says he feels most comfortable even though some specific events of Russian life effect sport celebrities’ lives as well. In earlier times Russian hooligans had a law: not to touch famous sportsmen because their own sweat and blood earn their money. Today times have changed. In 2002 before a DC semifinal against Argentina Safin’s BMW was stolen, then one after another two jeeps and then his parents’ flat got robbed. Marat treats these losses philosophically: “It is very important for a man to find the right time to feel independent of things as well as not to lose your mind when big money comes your way. A real man will always find himself even without money as long as he does something he loves. I really liked that stolen BMW but when the story became public I addressed the thieves through a newspaper (if they read newspapers that is) “Guys, if you managed to steal a car and not get caught I sincerely wish you happiness. Let there be at least be someone who gains out of this situation”.

On the whole Safin is not an avenger. There is however things he will not put up with: deceit, for example, or lying. “The most important quality in a man is honestly”, Marat once said, “do not tell small lies, then it will be hard to tell big ones”.
- What present would you chose for your worst enemy? – he was once asked during a press-conference
- A good present, - he replied – and that person would feel really bad not understanding what’s going on.
- Do you have a lot of enemies? When was the last time you wanted to his someone?
- This happens rather often because I cannot stand pushy and impolite people. And they are all over the place, - Safin replied.

Around the World

Marat acquired his favourite occupation at the age of 5. His mother Rausa Islanova was a good tennis player, a multi times champion of the USSR. The she became and excellent coach. She worked at the oldest tennis courts of Moscow, where loads of famous tennis players grew up: Andrei Chesnokov, Andrei Cherkassov, Anya Kournikova, Nastya Myskina…I suppose you can’t name all. Mum often took Marat with her to work because there was no one to leave him at home with. At first he was just fooling around with a racquet, then started to show some signs of talent and afterwards he began to like victories. That’s when his parents decided to make a real tennis player out of him.

But how? Nowadays Russia is living through a tennis boom but 20 years ago…Courts’ conditions were far from good and the indoor ones could be counted with fingers on one hand, racquets sold in shops were a nightmare, to find a good sparring partner was a whole problem. Some wise people advised the Safins to send the boy abroad. Some kind people helped with funds. So just like that at the age of 12 Marat found himself in the USA, in Florida, in a famous academy of Nick Bolletieri. However, he didn’t stay there long, didn’t make much of an impression on the tennis guru. This probably really hurt Marat’s ego. A few later he told the whole world about the true face of Mr. Bolletieri that not many people in the US know about, noone knows how Marat knows, too:

“He says he brought up Sampras, Agassi, Seles, Becker, Haas…Really and truly Bolletieri is a former paratrooper, who maybe knows how to hold a machine gun properly but not a racquet. It’s just that Nick is a very good businessman plus an experienced self-promoter and right connections guy. He attracts gifted kids to his academy, there well-known experienced coaches train them and Bolletieri announces himself as an achiever or results his coaches produce. By the way, he has the same kinds of academies in golf, soccer, baseball and horse riding. Are you meaning to tell me he is also good in these sports?”

So it didn’t work out with Bolletieri and Marat got his tennis degree in Valencia, at the tennis school of Pancho Alvarina. Apart from all the features of future champion, he also developed features of a macho there, namely “dark, passionate unpredictable inner power ready to break free at the right moment”, - such a comment was passed by one of the super models after she watched Marat play. Another stunning woman, star of “Beverly Hills 90210” Tiffany Amber Thiessen said that she would not rest until she manages to get Safin into her bed. Madonna herself through newspapers announced to the whole world that she included Marat in the list of sperm donors for her future son. But all of this was much later…

“I moved to Valencia when I was 14. This is how my independent life began”, Marat recollects. “In those days I could only spend 15 dollars per day as pocket money. And that is in a gorgeous country with so many seductions! I remember walking in the street and closing my eyes in order not to get too upset that I couldn't at a time afford this, this and that. However, I believe everyone has to pass a penniless stage once, then you start treasuring every dime. It’s funny to think about it now but the first car I ever bought was a wrecked red Volkswagen Golf. One door didn’t use to open and I think the car was about my age”.

Pyrrhic Victory

Everything changed in a second when in 2000 a 20 year old Russian “showing great potential” won one of the most prestigious Grand Slams – the US Open, thrashing the Great Pete Sampras in the final. That’s when at once Marat suddenly obtained a beautiful luxurious house in Valencia, a whole auto park of 5 cars, including of course a Ferrari and a massive crowd of female fans. In those days Marat swam in luxury and loved it. Nowadays however five years later, grown-up Marat is positive that the US Open victory played a cruel trick on him.

“It came way too early and I so to speak lost my head. I wanted to win every tournament, every match. A while later I realised that it is absolutely impossible. Tennis players have the longest season in the world, we only have a two week break in winter, we play 25-30 tournaments per season and you should make 5 – maximum 7 tournaments your top priority, the rest – are just passing by”.

Payback for the efforts of becoming the unbeatable came in the form of psychological instability, mountains of smashed racquets, conflicts with umpires, etc. but worst of all – serious injuries. The state that came over Marat urged him to get out on court not being 100% fit. As a result old injuries got worse and the new ones piled up on top. Yes, he did play some truly outstanding tennis every now and then and was in Grand Slam finals three times but nevertheless he started slipping downhill in ratings. November 2000- Safin is world’s Number One, the season of 2004 he started 77th.

“You do not want to miss a step in Russia: not only won’t they help you, they’d push you in the back, too”. Marat probably reached this sad conclusion during that “black” period of his life. Because this is exactly when Russian press poured all sorts of dirt on its idol. Russian paparazzi hunted for Marat. They were trying to expose him as someone who leads a dissolute lifestyle and that lifestyle is a cause of all his problems. A really great opportunity for these accusations turned up at Australian Open 2003, where Safin was accompanied by 3(!!!) stunning blondes everywhere he went. Marat had a close relationship with only one of them – a model from a US Agency “New Generation” Katya Bestuzheva and the other two were none more than her two Australian girlfriends. But noone really cared about that, did they? “The reason for Marat’s poor performance are his wild pre-match orgies!” That is what the journalists wanted to see and they obviously did see and write what they wanted.

About sex, by the way. A legendary basketball player Wilt Chamberlain insisted that he wasn’t able to play well if he spent the night before the game without a woman. Something on those lines was also admitted by an English soccer player from that era George Best. But sport has dramatically changed since then and Safin speaks differently. “Sex is a tremendous hormonal shaking. All pre-match excitement disappears after good sex. I also read somewhere that the sexier the person, the more of a genius he/she4 is. However if I had sex the nights before the game, I’d break down for spare parts on court”.

Meeting of Titans

It’s hard to say how Marat’s sports life would have turned out if in 2004 he didn’t meet a tutor he always needed. It was Peter Lundgren, who had trained today’s World Number One Roger Federer for seven years before that. They say Lundgren was meaning to take a break for a year or two from a hectic life of a coach but couldn’t resist a temptation of working with an extraordinary tennis player like Marat and postponed his planned leave. When a new union became public knowledge journalists asked Lundgren “Was it easier with Federer than with Safin?” An answer followed, “On the contrary, it’s easier with Safin for me. He is a straightforward guy, doesn’t hide his emotions and speaks his mind even when it concerns something unpleasant. It is much easier for me to work with people like that than with someone, who listens to you carefully, but will remain with his own opinion. And that is exactly what Federer is like”.

Lundgren drastically widened tactical and technical arsenal of Marat. If before Marat’s main strength was his powerful serve and he hated long plays, now his game is much more versatile. The most important factor, however, is that Peter managed to change Marat’s tennis psychology.

“In order for someone to once again transfer from a loser to a winner, it’s best to look the past in the eyes and chuck it out of your head forever”, Marat says nowadays. “I sold my luxurious cars, got rid of the will to be unbeatable, learned to accept defeats. I realised that I cannot waste time being miserable. I want to play tennis while I can. So why not enjoy it?!?”

There are two types of tennis players. First type are the ones, who play for themselves and for that reason they become champions faster than others. That’s what Federer is like today. The second type play tennis for the tennis itself and for that reason they become crowd’s favourites before they reach the top. That’s what Marat Safin is like today. Practically every match he plays, irrespectable of whether he wins or loses, is a drama. Yes, he has become more consistent, pushy, patient but you can never guess what is he going to do next: either an incredible combination or the stupidest mistake ever. He often brings the game to a tie-break, where one single shot decides a whole match. Just like before he smashes racquets, argues with umpires and entertains the crowd with exceptionally bright facial expressions and dialogues…with himself. Sometimes it seems that if Safin wasn’t a tennis player, he’d become an outstanding actor.

Safin and Lenin

“Life is short and I want to live it the way I like. There is no perfect player, everyone has weaknesses. Life presumes a balance between your strengths and weaknesses. No matter who you are you have to be happy. You cannot change yourself completely and there is no point in pretending you can when you can’t. Noone can change you no matter how much they try and how much time they waste on it.” This is a part of Marat’s philosophy today.

During one of the numerous press conferences he literally stunned the journalists when he said that he had been carefully studying Vladimir Lenin’s biography. He then explained, “I am fascinated by the phenomenon. How could anyone so small and weak force his will upon millions of people? Generally, if I admire anyone the reason would be their way of thinking”.

That is what keeps a “Russian wild cat” (as Tennis Magazine once called him) occupied these days.

“Safin will never let you get bored”, Peter Lundgren noted once. By the age of 25 Marat has earned over 12 million dollars, in addition to that he receives substantial pays from sponsors and advertisers. However, he prefers to buy his jeans on sale. “Everything on sale”, Safin adds. “But it has nothing to do with greed. It’s a drive looking of looking for something and then finding it. Cheap doesn’t necessarily mean bad, expensive stuff is in excess everywhere”.

In addition to that by the age of 25 Safin obtained three serious injuries that will remind of themselves for a while. This forced Marat, whom ACE Magazine announced the sexiest sportsman, seriously think about justice of rules in professional sports. “We are simply exploited but we cannot do anything about it. ATP Tour bosses are cool, dodge businessmen, they will not let profit slip away. What comes as a result? Every single one of us, tennis professionals, has a list of prohibited medicine, there are hundreds of brands in there. Often sportsmen don’t have a right to take widely used medicine like Coldrex or Fervex. Once I had extremely high fever and I was literally scared to go to the pharmacy. What if I buy and “swallow” something prohibited?!? Abnd stuffing yourself with antibiotics, which are sort of allowed, is a major knockout for your immune system. Now tell me, what normal person can bare 3-4 hours of running around the court when it’s +35 C??? You feel roasted, your pulse is about 200 beats… We are victims and it hurts to know noone cares. This means we have to think for the future and take care of ourselves. Now, for example, me and Mr. Arkhipov (he is a very famous Russian surgeon) want to establish an aid fund for the veterans of sport. And that’s not my only idea of this sort”.

The Famous Tie-Break

Specialists come to a unified decision that in the next few years the main “decoration” of male tennis will be the battles between pragmatic Federer and adventurous Safin. Roger and Marat already handed us a few matches like that. The wildest of all was the Australian Open 2005 semifinal, which lasted for 5 hours. Marat lost the first set, won the second, lost the third and snatched out a victory in the final fourth set in a manner that is very popular with a “Russian wild cat” – on a tie-break. By the way, Marat’s birthday was on the same day.

This time in Safin’s box there were no sexy long-legged blondes. There was however a sweet dark-haired girl named Dasha, whom the journalists hurried to sign in as Marat’s fiancée and a daughter of some Russian oligarch Zhukov. Furious Marat accused the press of lying once again and said that Mr. Zhukov is not an oligarch but simply a successful businessman. Later, having cooled off a little Marat admitted that Dasha andhim have a long-term relationship but there is no wedding in plans. “Look at my curls, and you want me to get married?!?! This responsible step can only be taken at 60, when your kids are grown”. And then he adds seriously, “A happy marriage to a tennis-player is tough, so why risk it? We, tennis players are used to belonging to ourselves, we never report to anyone. These are not the bet habits for family life. And then, what kind of family will that be with my never-ending travelling?!?!”

Australian Open 2005 final was the 100th one. Safin played Lleyton Hewitt. Easy to imagine how the whole crowd prayed for the Australian to win. Lleyton could have presented his country with a national holiday but...Marat snatched the opportunity away from him and won his second Grand Slam.
The day after the final, an Australian newspaper “Today” wrote, “There is also something else about Marat. It’s more than tennis, It’s his humanity. Being as emotional as he is he didn’t dance, roar, throw fists in the air after he had beaten Federer, he just stood there, reserved…calm. After the final Safin was calmness itself. It was a part of winner’s politeness. He ruined Hewitt’s and Australia’s dream but there was no need to rub it in”.

At the end of August a US Open tournament will take place, a tournament, which Marat’s stardom began with. Marat is amongst the favourites, we hope for his victory.

GQ Magazine

8.2005

He has been called the purest physical talent in the history of the game. So why doesn't Marat Safin dominate the tennis world? John Jeremiah Sullivan explores the dark psyche of tennis's tormented genius.

I've hated him, you know. I've hated that wack-job six-foot-four-inch beautiful genuis Tatar. Oh, never for long. Never with consistency that might have led to true renunciation. But there have been times when I wanted to see him... well, not suffer - because i know he suffers; he tells us so. It's one of this words - suffering: "I just suffer a bit more"; "I was suffering too much"; "That's why I am suffering"; "Why should I suffer?" Not that, then, but to see him humbled. Yes - scolded, even. I'm watching at home, let's say, and he's just netted a midcourt forehand approach ahot for the twelfth time in the set, having gotten all freaked out about some completely inconsequential baseline error six games earlier, and maybe he's talking to himself, but loud enough for the mikes to pick up, saying things like "Why you fecking run? Why not you make heem fecking run?" when from nowhere comes a tiny, creaking voice. The crowd goes still. A filthy crone, a babushka, has materialized in the service box, and she's waving a bony finger at him. "You," she hisses, "you were born the greatest of them all, and look at you, muttering to yourself like a ??????. (russian word, sorry I don't have crylics to type it out) You betray your gift, Marat Mikhailovich, and now you will know what it means to suffer."

Safin could answer - has pretty much answered, in fact, when a statement along those lines has been put to him by some reporter - that he's done so much, that in eight years he's been a professional tennis player, he's won two Grand Slams and made the finals of two other, has won thirteen other ATP tournaments, has twice (briefly) been number one in the world, and has with some consistency stayed among the top ten; that he's played in not a few truly classic matches, has overcome injuries, and has futhermore been a boon to the sport insofar as his personality, his looks, and his behavior on and off the court have given us something to talk about, to get worked up about. He could retire, as he more than threatened to do (the first time, reportedly, when he was 20), could install himself in a dacha somewhere with "a kid in one hand and a Tsingtao in the other" (as he once described his ideal future during a press conference in China), could leave behind forever the game that has been his love and tormentor since childhood, the game that may have saved him - as he mused at this year's French Open - from a life spent "picking up bottles in a park in Moscow," and no one would have grounds on which to fault him. We would do right to thank him, in fact we would follow the game.

But I've never been able to bring myself to feel this way. It's partly because of a mystifying pattern that has marked Safin's career from the start, of doing something magnificent, and then immediantely falling apart for a period of months, if not years. Each of what once could call the three watershed moments of his career - his "Who the hell is that kid?" win over Andre Agassi in the first round of the 1998 French Open, which introduced him to the tennis-watching world; his victory in the 2000 US Open final over Pete Sampras, when he played such frighteningly perfect tennis that some people, including his former coach the Swedish champion Mats Wilander, think it might have permanently messed with his head; and his semifinal, then final, wins in this year's Australian Open (against Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt, respectively), matches in which the level of play was accurately described by ESPN commentator Cliff Drysdale as "inhuman" - each of these has been followed hard upon by a period of decline, or atleast once in which the virtuosity he's able to summon goes missing.

It's partly that, yes, but it's also - more so - that when he is one, he's a god. The beauty of Safin's tennis is the beauty of overwhelming power and precision, less clever than crushing. He's not a scrapper; you won't see him pull off too many magical saves; he doesn't adapt too well, midmatch, doesn't beat players at their own games - what he does do, can do, instead, is render his opponents' games irrelevant.

There's a certain one-two move that, when Safin's demons have temporarily lef him alone, he likes to execute. It begins with a two-fisted backhand approach shot from the ad-court corner, just inside the baseline. He'll move up on the ball and sort of hop on his right leg, as if he's stubbed his toe, teetering as he tears the shot crosscourt. The landing from the little jump becomes itself the beginning of his sprint toward the net, during which his movement is strangely flowing and catlike for an athlete of his size. He's carrying so much mass and inertia forward that you think he's going to run right through the net, but then he pounds to a stop at the last second and performs the daintiest little touch-drop volley.

The effect of this maneuver, visually speaking, is a bit like seeing a pterodactyl that was flying straight at you suddenly shape-shift into a moth and flutter away.

It's this, and a dozen other little things like it, that can make you clutch your head over Safin when he's in one of his lost periods, inexplicably bowing out before guys who shouldn't be able to stay on court with him. But of course, those very qualities that make his game so dangerous are the ones that make it so fagile, or unusually vulnerable to psychological swings, because in order to play the kind of tennis that Safin correctly considers "his game," one has to, as they say, "dictate play" relentlessly, and in order to do that - against the best players in the world - one has to believe it's possible. The question, then, of why Safin can never maintain this belief for long is one that haunts all Safinites(sic).

I think it was partly in anger, craving answers, that I went to meet him at the Hamburg clay-court event in May. Since the glory of the Australian Open, there had been Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome, in none of which he made it past the third round. His own manager has expressed bafflement in the face of this latest collapse. His current coach, Peter Lundgren, when I'd asked how winning a Grand Slam could make a man lose his confidence (a cause-and-effect process that Safin described as "inevitable"), said simply, "It's amazing." But if i could get the ****er alone for a few minutes, force him to explain...

***

It's sunny out, and we're in the back of an expensive little black car, creeping through lunchtime traffic in spotless Hamburg. Safin is slouching, face to the window. A guy from ATP Europe is chatting in Spanish on his BlackBerry in the front. I confess I'd hoped for a more intimate setting - perhaps a small beige room with a card table and an ashtray and a single lightbulb overhead - but this'll suffice.

I open rather innocuosly. Who did he draw for the first round tomorrow?

"Martin."

He means Alberto Martin, a Spanish clay-court specialist who made the quarerfinals in Rome a week ago.

"I don't know much about his game," I say.

"Don't need to know," Safin mutters. "He's Spanish. That is all you need to know."

It's hard to tell whether he says this with contempt or kind respect. Whatever the case, it's not a subject I want to pursue, as it will only distract from the task of steering Safin into an arena of trust where I might use journalistic tricknology to get him to tell me what his problem is, the secret of his not-enough-success.

He makes some general complaints about the tour. "The people who run the sport," he says, "they're not really thinking about the players.... Eleven months of a season - no other sport has that."

I point out that horse racing has it, thinking in this way to make clear my sympathy (pro tennis players are treated like beasts).

"That is a hobby, not a sport," he says.

I take advantage of the ensuing awkward pause and test-drive the one theory that's always made the nearest semblance of sense to me, in trying to account for the Safin phenomenon, namely, perfectionism. He's said a few times that he sees himself as a perfectionist. Of course, he says so many things, but this one matches what you can see in his game, the way a single ugly shot can derail him from what looks like a certain win, the way an error on his part always seems to bother him twice as much as a great shot from his opponent, the way he almost never seems happy on court.

It's my feeling that Safin's relationship to the game is fundamentally aesthetic. He may occasionally bandy about that tiresome tennis shibboleth "result," which gets used about 1,500 times per press conference (as in "I made a good result," "The important thing is to get a result," etc.), but I don't think he really cares so much about winning qua winning. Oh, I mean, he cares passionately about it, of course, but there's another, deeper level at which what he cares about most is playing beautiful tennis, which means, for Safin, playing perfectly. That he has occasionally achieved this is sort of cruel, when you think about it. It's like Wilander said, when I asked him about his idea that the US Open final against Sampras in 2000 had, for a time, hurt Safin: "It turned out to be the worse thing.... Every time he stepped on a court, he expected to play that way."

That way... Safin was 20 years old, almost coltish. He won in straight sets - a startling enough statistic on its own - against a man who hadn't lost a Grand Slam final in five years (and who'd been in plenty of them); but it was the seeming nonchalance with which he did it that caused mouths to hang open. He was bending in passing shots like he'd found a way to mess with the laws of physics, dropping in thousand-pound aces, then moving right along as if they were practice balls. Dick Enberg, doing commentary, burst out at one point, "The game isn't that easy! It cannot be that easy!" After the match, Sampras called him "the future of the game," and that was the word on Safin for a time, till suddenly it wasn't. Not that he ever really faded, as a threat - but he wasn't supposed to have been a threat. He was suppose to have been a dominator. That was the script.

There's something he said during the trophy ceremony after that Sampras match, something i didn't notice at the time but that sticks out now. They were trying to get his take on the match, and he said he couldn't really remember the match, that he remembered only the very last game, when he'd had to serve it out. And here is the curious thing: That's the only game in which Safin played less than perfectly. Sampras even had a break point on him in that game. It was like the whole rest of the match - the astonishing, gorgeous part - hadn't even existed.

Well that's precisely how true perfectionism works. Contrary to what the rest of us may assume, your clinical, bona fide perfectionist doesn't especailly give a crap about the perfection itself. That's just the way it's suppose to go. Nothing to get all gleeful about. The screwups, the moments - the countless moments - when the performance is out of phase with the natural order: Those you notice, those you can get emotional about. And this, I really do think, is the reason that although Safin's reactions to his mistakes are perhaps unprecedented in their fury (and I'm not forgetting McEnroe here, but McEnroe was bratty, and Marat Safin, when he's shrieking or breaking rackets or destrying near-court objects, is sort of scary), his deportment in victory tends to be conspicuously muted and unimpressive.

You could see this on display after the most recent Australian Open final, against Hewitt. Safin had so many reasons just to go completely ape-shit after that match, to sob, to drop his shorts (like he did in last year's French Open), to throw a ball girl into the stands, whatever he wanted. In addition to not having won a Grand Slam final since his first, in 2000, he'd lost in the final of this particular event twice in the preceeding three years. Just to reach Hewitt, he'd had to get past Federer, the current messiah of tennis. That had been a match for the ages - "the match of the year," as they're still saying on TV - an ungodly tense four-and-a-half-hour five-setter that saw match points for both players before the final game but that ended with Federer literally on his hands and knees, crawling toward the net in disbelief. And now here he was, having won the one-hundredth Australian Open against yet another favored opponent, having silenced armies of critics (they'd called him "the one-Slam wonder"), and I might mention that he'd just turned 25. And you know what he did? He gave the weakest little fist pump. I don't really know how to describe the gesture. It was like, "Cool, that went well." Sure you might say, maybe he doesn't like to show his emotions so much. To which one might reply, Have you ever watched a Marat Safin match?

Back in the car, Safin wasn't having any of that. He's over his perfectionism, you see. "You start to realize," he said, "that apart from perfection, if you want to win, you have to be satisfied with the win. You don't have to play. And the luck..."

Luck? What good were my pitiful moves against such fathoms of tragic denial?


***


He was born in Moscow in the winter of 1980, the closest thing you could be to a tennis blue blood in Soviet Russia. His father is the director of an important athletic club, and his mother, Rausa, once a world-class player in her own right, has been a coach there for many years - in fact, the majority of the top Russian female players have been her charges at one point or another, including Safin's six-foot younger sister, Dinara, who at the moment is posed to break into the top twenty. People say Safin's mother used to park his pram by the side of the court during lessons, and it's safe to say that from the first time he held a racket, doing well was about something more than fun. It was, among other things, a way of attaining "a better life."

Through friends of friends, Safin's family found him a sponsor, and at the age of 14 he was sent to Valencia, Spain, where he did most of his serious training. His sister says that at first the situation was "very difficult for him... He didn't know Spanish. He was coming home once in three months." And he carries in his personality the marks common to those who are hurled into adult existence - a wariness that is eager to turn to warmth, and does so the minute he senses whoever he's talking to is okay, is for real.

And there's another side to Safin one is tempted to trace to his having been kicked out of the boat and told to swim at a young age - his fully formed character. The adjective mature might not leap to mind in reference to a player who once called attention to the beauty of the three barely clad blonde women seated in his player's box, but it's nonetheless true that Safin emphatically does not give off that quality of emotional and itellectual stuntedness one so often notices in professional athletes. He's odd; he has his own thoughts about things. This is a truth you're more likely to pick up from reading interviews with him that have been conducted in Russian or Spanish, rather than English, which he speaks quite well but with a kind of false fluency that doesn't allow him to venture very far from a store of quips and platitudes. If you read his Russian interviews, you'll find exchanges like this one:

Q: Besides the coach and the masseur, are there other people accompanying you at the tournament?

A: For what? To entertain? I don't like clowns, I find them repugnant.

Or this, one of my favorites:

Q: It's well-known that at 14 you joined the tennis school in Valencia, but it gets somehow forgotten that before that you applied to the Bollettieri academy in the States two years earlier.

A: That trip ended in nothing. They refused me, saying they didn't see potential. Like, nothing can be done out of me.

Q: Did yours and Bollettieri's paths cross later?

A: Yeah, a few years back we met and he offered his excuses for his mistake.

Q: Was it pleasant to gloat?

A: On whom? Bollettieri knows nothing about tennis. When I was 12, I was hurting, but I soon understood what kind of man he is.

Maybe I'm not being fair to the other players here - Andy Roddick, for instance has a fine wit when he wants - but somehow it's hard to imagine Roddick saying, "I soon understood what kind of man he is" in any language. Wilander said, "He has a lot going on upstairs. Too much, I think. Life is not as simple for Marat Safin as it is for a lot of other players."


***


At the photo shoot, the makeup woman appears in the doorway, a few paces behind Safin, and says, "I guess we're done... He just walked away."

It's surprising to see what a competent model he is. He's following the photographer's orders and seems, in general, much less grumpy. He's even telling bad jokes to the little crowd: "What is the blond girl with the black hair?" (ie with a dye job) "Artificial intelligence."

It's harder to say anything about Safin and not, sooner or later, address the matter of his physical beauty. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm as straight as some sort of atomically precise geometer's tool, but when Safin pulls off his shirt, you're thrown for a second by what a specimen he is. Sometimes the genome just lines up, you know? It's like Jim Courier said: "That's the body. If you could pick one, if you could design one..." And it'd be foolish to pretend that this hasn't played a part in Safin's career, that it isn't one of the reasons he stayed at the forefront, mediawise, during those dismal years - one of the reasons everyone involved with the sport wishes he'd win more consistently. It's an uneasy time for the ATP right now. America is still the biggest tennis market, but Americans tend to care exclusively about homegrown players, and on the men's side especially, the bench is pretty shallow. (In terms of title contenders, there's Roddick and... Roddick.) The industry would like nothing more than to find a foreign player so talented, so good-looking, and so charming that they'd tune in to watch him in Ohio. Safin could be the male Sharapova, except... not quite. As a not-not-not-for-attribution source in the industry told me, "There's a summer publicity tour this year, with Rafael Nadal and Federer, in conjuncttion with the US hard-court season. You can believe they'd love to use Safin like that. But it's fifty-fifty wheter he'd change his mind and back out.

Safin notices the butts of some hand rolled cigarettes in an ashtray. He picks one up and sniffs it. "Somebody smoking joints?" he says.

Everyone laughs.

"Do you like it?" (This seems to be the Russo-English version of "Good shit?")

The photographer asks him about the tattoo on his right arm: "What does it mean?"

"Live fast, die young," Safin says.

In the limo again, on the way back to the hotel, this seems like the natural place to resume. "So your tattoo means 'Live fast, die young'?" I say.

"Actually, no, it is symbol of the monkey," he says. "But I like that the people always go, 'Wow, really?'"


***


I have a front-row seat for Safin v. Martin. I've never watched a tennis match from this close, and there's a powerful, defamiliarizing intensity to it. No other sport isolates its athletes to the degree you find in a professional singles match. Not even a ring-man or a caddy for comfort. So much time between each point - to think about what's going wrong, to get nervous or mad, to doubt. So much physical space around each player. And there's the hush, the always imperfect hush - it's a game that can be disrupted by somebody coming back late from the bathrooom. Not, in short, a game that is friendly to head cases.

Martin, at five nine, looks almost jockeylike across the net from Safin, who's smacking the soles of his shoes with his racket, one at a time, to shake lose the clay, then stamping his feet like a bull in expectation of the serve. He's in form today, making no mistakes. All around me there are regular exclamations, after points, of klassik! And zuper!

The match is over in fifty-one minutes. Safin hasn't played like this since January, since the Australian. But this is only the first round. One must remain calm.

And indeed, his foray in Hamburg ends up being a perfect little tow-match distillate of Safinism. The very next day, in the second round, he faces the willowy blond Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, "El Mosquito." They've known each other since they were kids in Spain, know the weaknesses of each other's games like you know how to piss off a sibling.

Safin wins the first set 6-4, and I can't suppress a grin. Our man is back. It wasn't just a blip. Safin's doing this thing he does, that he's pretty much alone on the tour in doing, of setting up early for a forehand and then neglecting to take any futher skitter-steps, just standing there waiting to devastate the ball. Ferrero seems unfazed, however, like he can afford to wait this out - like he knows something - which I noted under the heading "Bad Signs."

Ferrero starts out the second set by breaking Safin's serve. That's okay - he can get it back. But then it happens, at 2-0 Ferrero, second set, Safin serving, 40-30.

Safin hits a first serve the catches the center line. There's no audible call, and Ferrero returns the ball (a weak return); then Safin hits a winner. But in the middle of Safin's shot, Ferrero turns and makes this ambiguous gesture, like "Hey, wasn't that..." The umpire puts up his hands and calls the ball out. It's almost as if he's fallen asleep and then, waking up to find Ferrero staring at him, made the call out of embarassment. Safin accepts this turn of events - I don't see why, since he'd be right to complain - and he lets another few points go by.

Now they are at duece. And here, here is where he decides to lose it. He stalks toward the chair, muttering along the way. He's evidently asking why no one heard this first, mysterious "out" call. Fergus Murphy, the diminutive Irish chair umpire, says, "Well, Juan heard it, Marat."

"Who gives a feck what he heard?"

Safin spits. Murphy says something inaudible.

"So, how thee feck-"

"Just watch the language, Marat."

"No, listen, it's peesing me off."

"I know. But everyone can hear us."

"I don't give a sheet. You mech a meestech."

The crowd is as one now in jeering Safin, though I'm seeing smiles on their faces. Is he being mocked in his suffering here, or is he...feeding off them?

Murphy says, "I don't really understand you, Marat." So Safin climbs up the chair until his face is almost touching Murphy's.

"Don't come up here Marat," Murphy says, sounding equal parts scared and amused. But it is too late. Safin is now openly taunting the crowd, waving his arms like, "Yeah, yeah, cheer louder you eedeeots." Three solid minutes of this go by.

Safin wins the game, but on the changeover he's still complaining. He looks up at Murphy and shouts, Coriolanus-like, "If you mech a meestach, I cannot poot you a warning! You can poot a warning to me!"

Now it's Ferrero's turn. He bangs on the chair with his racket, to get Murphy's attention. "I'm talking to him, Juan" Murphy says. And Ferrero points out that this is precisely the problem: Make him get on with it.

When play resumes, the match is clearly over, I know that might sound sort of fatalistic, but I've watched a lot of Safin matches, and I know the signs. Believe it or not, the self-berating and the racket smashing are meaningless. Those can happen whether he's fated to win or lose (and they are certainly happening today). The true signs of disaster in a Safin match are slightly more understated. Sign 1: He smacks a ball that's no longer in play, a bit too aggressively, toward one of the corners. (Check.) Sign 2: He starts hitting for the lines, in attempting winners, when two feet inside would do. (Check.) Sign 3: He starts netting his midcourt forehands. (Check.) Ferrero win 4-6 6-6 6-2.

Later, at the press conference, it's not the loss but Ferrero's little snit - his beating on the umpire's chair - that has Marat upset. "He just came to the chair umpire," Safin says. "He didn't even say, "Excuse me."


***


The closest I come to forcing the point with Safin, back in the limo, is when we're talking about Roger Federer, the 24-year-old Swiss master and uninterrupted world number one for going on a year and a half. In a way, Federer is casting a shadow over the career of every professional tennis player right now, but the comparison with Safin is particulary pointed, because Safin is often mentioned as the one player who possesses the sheer physical genius to challenge Federer steadily, the one who could not just upset Federer now and then but maybe rival him.

"Federer," Safin says, "he cannot lose, because he has everything that God gave him, he used everything. Me, I have my weaknesses. My problems. That's me. But I can't fight nature."

"But is consistency a goal of yours?" I ask him. "Do you want to be more like Federer?"

"Of course I want to be," he says. "But it is difficult. It's difficult because... I'm a different person from Federer. Nobody can be that consistent."

"But you beat him."

"Well, yeah, no..."

I'd sensed my opening - tiny as it was - and damned if I wasn't about to exploit it. "You beat him when he was playing his best tennis," I say, "On a surface he likes-"

"One match doesn't change-"

"Well, the five-set semifinal of a Grand Slam. That's not just a-"

I am aware - Safin is, too - that I'm no longer talking as a journalist but as a demented fan.

"Yeah," Safin says, "but he won another couple of tournaments afterward. Me... Look, Federer is not an example! He has a different way of thinking. That's why he's the way he is. I'm a different person; I've been like this for many years."

For maybe half a minute, we're silent, I'm wondering - sincerely asking myself - if I'd ever really want him to be more like Federer. Isn't there something about such regular perfection that leaves one a little cold? The thought takes me back to my days playing third singles on a public high school team in Ohio, that feeling I'd get when we'd make it to districts, all confident after having won the city, and suddenly I'd be up against some kid with country-club strokes, and it'd feel like swinging a paddle underwater. Safin knows that feeling. As unapproachably great as he is, he knows it on a regular basis. He does suffer. Isn't that why I can't really hate him?

"My time will come," Safin says. "You can't forget how to play tennis. It's just waiting for the moment." And then he's climbing out the car, on his way back to the tour, on his way to losing at the French Open in the fourth round and at Wimbledon in the third round and after that - I refuse to doubt it - glory.

5.10.2005

L'Equipe

At the age of 25, we thought he had calmed down. But since his victory at the Australian Open, in January, the Russian went through a lot of defeats without glory. Being prey to doubts again, will he find the key to his internal torments before Roland Garros?

There he goes again! Gloomy thoughts which appears and are eating into him. Dejection crises which make his craving shut up. Doubts which eat into his tennis. All those weird moods he has been going through since we know him and which start to sound like a cliché, in spite of himself, in spite of us. Wonderful champion at the Australian Open 3 months ago, in January, he has fallen to the bottom of water since then. He didn’t win any tournament due to matches beneath his talent. And now Roland Garros which is coming with this question: which Marat Safin will show? The one from Melbourne, calmed down (a little bit), with his high level of confidence and his brilliant game? Or the one from Monaco, Barcelona and Rome, whose mind is assailed with questions and whose racket is at half-mast?

And we thought he had changed since his Australian victory. He was in control, he seemed to have mastered his frustrations. A godsend for the tennis world: a new Safin was born, soon to be the regular challenger of Roger Federer. His brand new coach, Peter Lundgren, the guy who had restrained Marcelo Rios’ aggressive ardour, the guy who had then restrained Roger Federer’s fiery impatience, had once again done some great work. Armed with his Nordic coolness and his well-rounded stature, Lundgren had not let Safin’s uncertainties get the better of him. He has succeeded where his predecessors – 8 coaches since the beginning of Safin’s career – had failed. Marat’s work. Lundgren’s share. That was a gross mistake.

Because will Marat ever change? Gerard Tsobanian, the Russian’s French manager, disappointed, almost angry after his favourite’s failures, says: “Why is it not working for Marat? But because he has fallen back into the twists and turns oh his complicated psyche!”. And then he admits, puzzled: “The fact Marat might have lost his tennis in the Melbourne-Moscow flight is a mystery to me…”

But it seemed not to be a mystery for Russian player Nikolay Davydenko who says: “Marat took a long break after Melbourne. He preferred to go fishing near Moscow”. Lundgren, who in private is as surprised as Tsobanian, categorically denies: "In Moscow Marat trained very well. But after the Australia he was probably mentally tired. Since we are together he has worked a lot. He’s also given a lot during autumn. He won the tournaments of Beijing, Madrid and Bercy, he played the semi-final in Houston’s Masters. Marat was the man to beat during the last winter, and he is burnt now”. Then he adds: “At the beginning of the year, Marat was focussed. He didn’t show his emotions. He was in control. He was playing well. We need to have that state of mind back. But it’s difficult, he’s not someone who has a huge confidence…”

We would like to avoid the overused image. But with Marat you always go back to the same point, deep into the character who lives in his mind, back to his mental manipulations, his mental masochism. His mother, Rauza, doesn’t worry much about it and quietly explains: “Marat trains seriously, but he doesn’t know how to play his tennis anymore. He’s lost his concentration. Perhaps after Melbourne he wanted to succeed too much…”. Swiss Marc Rosset, a friend of the Russian – maybe because he acts like him, and like their 3rd buddy, the enigmatic Goran Ivanisevic – says: “What do you want, it’s Marat. Someone whose results depend on his craving, on his feeling, whereas some others can ignore their emotions. If something goes wrong in his mind, everything goes wrong. And he questions himself a lot, he sets very high standards for himself. Therefore, he may have won in Melbourne, it won’t change a lot: he may play 20 perfect forehands, if the 21st is bad, he’ll hate himself for it and it’s going to be a catastrophe”. Rosset talked to safin on the phone just after the Russian lost to Argentine Acasuso in the second round of Barcelona: ”Marat told me: “there will be better days”. He’s also quite fatalist for that matter”.

Here are some examples of this resignation that he expressed in a disconcerting month of April:

“Marat you went through tough times after Melbourne, is there an explanation for it?
- I just lost confidence. Anyway, over the past three years, I didn’t have any good results in these tournaments I played after Melbourne… It’s the kind of months I can’t play.
Why?
- I don’t know why. No matter how hard you train, how much you give of yourself, no matter if you try not to think about it or if you think about it a lot, no matter if you train a lot or not at all. At the end it doesn’t work anyway.
When you lost confidence, you just had won the Australian Open, you were feeling good…
- I took a break before Dubaï. I took 3 weeks off. Then I needed time to get used to the courts and I lost the confidence.
While you were on a break?
- Yes. During the break. It happens sometimes”.

Then he is asked if he has ever thought of working with a mental trainer. He prefers to avoid the question: “You have to be satisfied with what you are. You can’t change. You can’t pretend you can change because it’s not possible. No one changes, and no one can change you, no matter what they do, or how many time they spend trying. You must accept it. And I managed to finish in the top 10 for 4 or 5 years so… and I’ve been #1, so it’s not that bad”. Actually, Marat Safin worked last year with an Israeli psychologist found by Amit Naor, a former player who is now one of his managers, and whose name hasn’t been revealed to us by Marat’s staff as the Russian doesn’t like the idea anyway.

On another side, since Dubaï he’s been working with a new physiologist. He has fired the old talkative man Walt Landers, and he’s now working with Donald Nielsen, a former Thai boxing champion, who is also a chiropractor and an adept of mental coaching. Will Safin be able to peacefully associate physical and mental training at his contact?

“We must do everything to put him back on the right way” says Lundgren. Everything to get him out of this spiral, because they don’t want Melbourne to make him sink like his first GS title (the US Open, in 2000) did. More than 4 years have passes during his mythical victory over Pete Sampras in New York and his second GS title won in the last winter. Four years – the longest moment spent in wilderness by any player in the whole tennis history – to get rid of the image of a 20 year old exceptional kid whom his American victory had then crushed him more than it had transcended him.

“The situation is completely different this time” refutes Gerard Tsobanian. "At the US Open, Marat suddenly had to learn what it was to be famous. Now he is a more mature man, who has experienced plenty of good things in-between”. “And Marat knows today how to get out of this issue, whereas there are some who never find the solution to the problem” says Alexander Voltkov, a former player who has been Marat’s coach in the past and now works with the Russian Davis Cup and Fed cup teams. And he adds, laughing: “Tomorrow everything will be better with Marat, you’ll see. He’ll suddenly wake up in a better mood, he’ll decide to play better, and he’ll be there again”.

SHTML>afbody>“I think Marat will be ready for Roland Garros. It’s a tournament he really likes”. And Marc Rosset: “You should never put Marat under pressure. And that’s why Peter is perfect for him. He is very quiet, he can be very severe when he has to be, but also very cool at times. And also yeah, what Marat is perhaps really looking for nowadays is the Grand Slams”.

Asked if he can compare Safin and Federer, Lundgren prefers to highlight their difference: “When I worked with Federer, he was an impulsive young man of 19-20 years, who has know found his maturity. Marat is a man of 25 years, he knows what he is doing”. Does the Swedish coach mean Safin isn’t a kid anymore, that he has found the way he wanted he to “live” his tennis and must accept the consequences? But does Safin even know what he wants in his life? His interviews don’t explain much. Of course he talks a lot. He bows his head down, takes a monotonous voice, and makes long, endless sentences which he suddenly ends in a disarming, charming smile. But what does he say about him really?

After a victory or a loss he stays calm, true to himself, which is a strange behaviour compared with his extreme reactions on court. In the past, he couldn’t stand it when his father was getting nervous and started screaming from the courtside. He asked him not to come to any tournaments anymore. But still… he’s always hiding behind this weird indifference, always saying he is happy the way it is. When somebody asked him, in Monaco, if he wasn’t frustrated of not being able to compete with Roger Federer since Melbourne, as everyone had been expecting it, he answered, impassive: "No, not at all. I try to play at my best, I try to be the most consistent I can. If something can help and I’m able to compete with Roger for the #1 ranking, good. But if I can’t do it, I’m still happy”.

Thus he pretends he is satisfied with him, with the way of life of the multimillionaire he is, dividing his time between his 3 apartments (in Moscow – on the Kalininski Prospekt where the communist dignitaries had their residence, in Valencia and in Monaco), with the lifestyle he has as a playboy, a reveller. Again, it’s hard to avoid the clichés. Marc Rosset: "It is a completely false image people have of him. Marat doesn’t like alcohol, and likes nightclubs even less. He’ll prefer staying at home with friends if he can. But if someone sees him out late a night, then everyone start fantasize”. But what about the beautiful girls around him? “OK, girls are there. But he’s handsome, he is attractive”. So there would be another Safin, more ambitious, with a superior emergency? Rosset again: “Maybe you shouldn’t try to understand Marat. Take him as he is. It took me a long time to understand him. Russians… you see them arguing, but at the end they fall into each others’ arms. Kafelnikov was the same. They are expressive, they cry, they laugh”.

That must be the famous Slavic spirit, which leads you to euphoria before it leads you into depression. It’s again an image which sticks to the character, but Safin himself uses it, probably to avoid the questions from journalists easier. Because it can’t be that simple. Somebody told him about Labadze’s theory: if the Russians don’t really want to play before they start a match, then they don’t really play. And Safin answered, mocking: “It’s Labadze. He is Georgian”. In brief, what does he know about Russians? Then it continues with the ups and downs of Davydenko, who disagrees: “Careful! Marat isn’t Russian. He’s a Tatar”. So what? What does it change? “Well, he’s a bit weird. Me for instance, I prefer to play doubles with Russians. I play with Andreev”. So Safin is a weird Tatar, born in Moscow in a family from Kazan, the capital city of the former autonomous Soviet Republic based on the middle regions of the Volga. He is a Muslim, like the 7 millions descendants of these Turkish- Mongolian nomads, even though he is not a practising Muslim. Dancer Rudolph Noureïev was another famous Tatar. And nobody ever understood his enigmatic genius either.

Françoise INIZAN. L'Equipe Magazine

This Biofile was done on August 31, 1998 at the US Open. At the time Safin was a highly regarded teenager but was still ranked outside the top 50. He reached the round of 16 in Flushing Meadows before losing to Sampras. Safin would break into the top 50 later in the year when he defeated Korda in first round in Ostrava. In 2000 at the age of 20, Safin stunned the tennis world by dominating Sampras in three sets for his first slam title. He later became #1 in the world and won the Australian Open.

Childhood Heroes: “Sampras, Kafelnikov, Medvedev. Good players and nice people. It’s important to be nice person. Not to be a great player who thinks he’s like unbelievably great. I like a nice person.”

Hobbies/Interests: “Play sports, movies, eat [laughs].”

Pre-Match Feeling: “Like to talk with people. Makes me loose. Not close my eyes and think about match. I prefer to spend that time with people – other players, my coach. Not to be very concentrated. You’re already nervous before the match.”

Early Tennis Memory: “My first tournament I played in Russia I was seven. And I make two rounds. Win two matches. In championship of Moscow. So my first tournament I won two matches. Was very good for me. Small tournament but very important for me.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “French Open, beat two players from top of tennis (Agassi & Kuerten, both in five sets). Agassi – I’d lost to him one match before in Davis Cup. So that was very important. Because I wanted to win. To beat Agassi is very nice always. Whether he plays good or bad, just to beat Agassi any time is very nice.”

Most Painful Moment: “Nothing.”

Favorite Movies: “The Godfather, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro movies.”

Musical Tastes: “Metallica, Halloween – the most hard, dance music, Dream.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Soccer clubs – Valencia of Spanish league. Inter Milan of Italian league. Ronaldo. Mike Tyson – nice. Shaq, Orlando Magic. Spartak Moscow – from my country. Dallas Cowboys. Oakland Raiders. Los Angeles Kings, Wayne Gretzky. Baseball – I don’t understand [smiles].”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Players who serve and volley – Rafter, Rusedski, Woodforde. Hard for me to play against them when they serve and volley well and make the volley all the time. Everybody is hard but they’re the most hard.”

Closest Tennis Friends: “Everybody.”

Funniest Players: “Julian Alonso – he’s the young star from Spain. A very nice person, and I think he’s very funny.”

Favorite Meal: “Russian food, but you won’t know the name.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “I prefer an omelette and pancakes.”

Favorite Vacation: “Cancun. I would like to go to Cancun in the off-season.”

First Car: “1990 VW Golf (red), an old one.”

Childhood Dream: “I wanted to play soccer.”

Interesting Fact: “Nothing special.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “I don’t like the people who think they’re very important. I like people who are very friendly and just nice people. Not somebody who thinks they are the best of the best. Just nice person.”

Future Ambitions: “Just be in the top 10 by when I’m 20. To be maybe top 10. When I get to top 10 I’ll think of other things – number five, number one. I don’t know. But main thing is to be top 10.”

23.03.2008

Autor: Piotr Surma

Na starcie: : Marat Safin urodził się 27 stycznia 1980 r w Moskwie. Rodzice Marata byli związani z tenisem. Matka Raisa, będąca jedną z czołowych rosyjskich tenisistek, zabierała małego Marata na treningi w klubie Spartak Moskwa, prowadzonym przez jego ojca, Michaiła. Tym sposobem Marat rozpoczął swoja przygodę z tenisem mając 6 lat, a matka była jego trenerką do trzynastego roku życia.
Wówczas, rodzice uznali że znaczące postępy młodego Marata nie są możliwe w Rosji więc Marat i jego matka odwiedzili akademię tenisową w Walencji. Tam poznali Marię Pasqual, którą poproszono o cenę zdolności Safina. Pasqual zauważyła jego ogromny naturalny talent i przekonała prywatnego sponsora, aby wspierał finansowo szkolenie Marata, co umożliwiłoby mu pozostanie w akademii. Mając 14 lat, Marat opuścił dom rodzinny i wyjechał sam do Hiszpanii. Przez 4 lata Marat trenował w Walencji pod okiem Pasqual i Rafaela Mensua. W tym czasie prócz postępów w grze, biegle nauczył się hiszpańskiego i obecnie jest to trzeci język, którym się posługuje.

Początki kariery: W 1997 roku Marat przesunął się o ponad 200 pozycji w rankingu z dorobkiem jedenastu wygranych i pięciu przegranych meczów w rozgrywkach challengerowych. Wygrał swój pierwszy tytuł w Espinho i krótko potem stał się profesjonalnym tenisistą. Jego pierwszym turniejem, który rozegrał już jako profesjonalista, był Puchar Kremla w Moskwie, gdzie przegrał w pierwszej rundzie z Carlsenem.
Pierwszy raz skierował na siebie reflektory całego tenisowego świata w 1998 roku, gdy podczas turnieju Roland Garros pokonał w pierwszej rundzie samego Andre Agassiego. W następnej rundzie wygrał z broniącym tytułu Gustavo Kuertenem, przegrywając następnie w czwartej rundzie z Cedricem Pioline. Osiągnął również swój pierwszy półfinał w Long Island i dotarł do czwartej rundy US Open, gdzie przegrał z Petem Samprasem. Pod koniec roku Safin przeskoczył o kolejne 150 miejsc w rankingu, kończąc sezon w pierwszej pięćdziesiątce.

Swoją „wspinaczkę” kontynuował również w następnym roku. W 1999 był drugą rakietą w Rosji (zaraz za Kafielnikowem, który wówczas zajmował 2 miejsce w światowym rankingu). Marat wygrał swój pierwszy turniej z serii ATP w Bostonie, pokonując Grega Rusedskiego i tracąc tylko jednego seta w pięciu meczach. Pomógł również Rosji w dotarciu do półfinału Pucharu Davisa wygrywając decydujące mecze w pierwszej rundzie i ćwierćfinałach. W lutym Marat doszedł do półfinałów w St. Petersburgu i Rotterdamie, a następnie drugi raz z rzędu osiągnął czwartą rundę w Roland Garros i wywalczył półfinał w Amsterdamie.

W listopadzie, podczas europejskich turniejów na kortach krytych, Marat osiągnął w Paryżu swój pierwszy finał z cyklu Masters Series, wygrywając z Kuertenem, następnie Courierem (1/4 finału) i Changem (1/2 finału), a przegrywając w czterech setach z Andre Agassim. Dzięki tym dokonaniom, po raz pierwszy w karierze, Marat znalazł się na 25 miejscu w rankingu.
Rok 2000 był jednocześnie okresem wzlotów i upadków. Po mało obiecujących początkach Safin wygrał turnieje w Barcelonie i Majorce. W tym czasie jego trenerem był Andriej Czesnakow. W bardzo krótkim czasie Marat wygrał w Toronto swój pierwszy turniej z cyklu Masters Series i dotarł do finału w Indianapolis. Następnie zaczęły się jego problemy z trenerami. Po Czesnakowie jego kolejnymi trenerami byli Aleksandr Wołkow i Tony Pickard.
Safinator
Na szczycie: Kulminacyjny punkt kariery Marata nadszedł już po kilku tygodniach. Podczas turnieju US Open wygrał on swój pierwszy turniej wielkoszlemowy, pokonując w finale broniącego tytułu Pete’a Samprasa.
W tydzień po tym wydarzeniu Marat odbył długą podróż do Taszkentu i stracił tylko jednego seta na pięć rozegranych meczów. Tym samym stał się pierwszym tenisistą od czasów Ivana Lendla, któremu udało się wygrać turniej ATP w tydzień po zdobyciu tytułu wielkoszlemowego. Safin kontynuował swą wspaniałą grę, pokonując w finale TMS w Paryżu Marka Philippoussisa, po trwającym 3 godziny i 29 minut maratonie.
Marat Safin miał już na swoim koncie 7 zwycięskich turniejów i przez pewien czas był numerem 1 w rankingu ATP. Stał się więc najmłodszym tenisistą, od czasów 19-letniego Borisa Beckera, który zakończył sezon na drugim miejscu w rankingu. Stał się również pierwszym zawodnikiem, który nie mając jeszcze ukończonych 21 lat, wygrał co najmniej 7 turniejów w jednym sezonie. Ostatnim, któremu udało się to osiągnąć, był Mats Wilander.

Miłe złego początki: Otwarty charakter Safina sprawił że stał się się on obiektem uwielbienia fanów i ucieleśnieniem ideału playboya kochającego rozrywkę, w naturalny sposób potrafiącego przyciągać uwagę, Jako nieliczny z zawodników występujących w rozgrywkach swoje osiągnięcia w znacznym stopniu zawdzięczał nieprzeciętnemu talentowi, popartemu metodyczną pracą. Jednak żaden z zawodników nie jest w stanie zastąpić tytanicznej pracy nawet nieprzeciętnym talentem. Zwycięstwa wciąż jednak przychodziły mu łatwo. Podczas turniejów rozgrywanych na kortach ziemnych, Marat doszedł do finału w Hamburgu, nie tracąc przy tym ani jednego seta, a przegrywając ostatecznie z Rogerem Federerem. Swoją dobrą grę kontynuował również na turnieju Roland Garros, gdzie po raz pierwszy doszedł do półfinału, przegrywając w nim z Ferrero. Nie powiodło się mu jednak na Wimbledonie i US Open, gdzie dwukrotnie zakończył grę na drugiej rundzie. Współpraca Marata z Matsem Wilanderem zakończyła się w połowie roku, a jego miejsce zajęli menadżer Marata, Amit Naor i przyjaciel z dziecinnych lat, Denis Gołowanow. Naor jednak szybko przestał podróżować z Maratem, ale ich współpraca trwa do dziś.
Marat zdołał uratować kolejny nieudany sezon, wygrywając w Paryżu z ówczesnym numerem 1, Lleytonem Hewittem, a pełen wiary w swoje możliwości poprowadził Rosję do zwycięstwa w Pucharze Davisa.
Marat zakończył rok 2003 poza pierwszą 50-tką rankingu (pierwszy raz od 1997 roku). Jego gra zastała ograniczona do 13 turniejów, czego powodem była kontuzja lewego nadgarstka, która wyłączyła Safina z rozgrywek.
W roku 2004 nr 1 rosyjskiego tenisa powrócił do gry, aby skończyć sezon w czołowej „czwórce”. Dokonał tego po raz trzeci w przeciągu 5 lat. Wygrał trzy turnieje ATP, z czego 2 to prestiżowe „mastersy”, a w dwóch innych dotarł do finału. Był także finalistą Australian Open, gdzie przregrał w trzech prostych setach z Rogerem Federerem. Rosjaninowi nie starczyło sił na podjęcie walki ze Szwajcarem po wyczerpujących meczach z Agassim i Roddickiem.
Po nieoczekiwanym pojawieniu się w finale Australian Open, „come back” Safina obrał zdecydowanie gorszy kierunek. Przegrywał w początkowych rundach turniejów odbywających się latem, m. in. w US Open, gdzie odpadł w pierwszej rundzie po meczu z Tomasem Enqvistem.

Przebudzenie: W tym samym roku Marat rozpoczął pracę z nowym trenerem, Peterem Lundgrenem, który wcześniej współpracował z Marcelo Riosem i Rogerem Federerem. Wygrał turniej w Pekinie, a potem jeszcze dwa turnieje halowe z cyklu Masters Series w Madrycie i Paryżu. Udało mu się zamienić swoją pozycję w rankingu z 86. (którą zajmował na początku sezonu) na 4., dzięki czemu po raz czwarty w karierze pojawił się w kończącym sezon turnieju Tennis Masters Cup w Houston.
Rok 2005 rozpoczął się dla Marata ekstremalnie dobrze. W Australii udało mu się wreszcie wygrać tak długo oczekiwany drugi turniej wielkoszlemowy. W półfinale pokonał nr 1 światowego tenisa Rogera Federera w ekscytującym, pięciosetowym pojedynku. W finale natomiast pokonał faworyta Australijczyków – Lleytona Hewitta.

Kolejny rozdział Marat Safin pisze w od dwóch lat, my wszyscy niepoprawni optymiści mamy nadzieję że nasz ulubieniec da nam jeszcze posmakować uniesień jakie były naszym udziałem po wygranej Australian Open w 2005 roku. Piękna mieszanina rosyjskiej fantazji i hiszpańskiej finezji, jaką prezentuje Safin w swoich najlepszych meczach zasługuje na umieszczenie Safina pośród największych sław tenisa.