Marat Safin achievements. Marat Safin: what kind of deputy he was. A bright career in big sports
Marat Safin is one of the best tennis players in the world. The athlete managed to remain the first racket of the world for nine weeks. Now Marat has finished his professional career and became a deputy of the State Duma. How did the athlete manage to reach such heights in the port, and then in politics?
As a child, it was clear to everyone that little Marat would become a tennis star. How could it not happen when the boy was born in Moscow into the family of one of the best tennis players in the USSR and director of the Spartak club? He was taught to hold a racket in his hands almost from childhood.
Marat was easily able to play tennis and in the first stages of training he showed good results, although at the same time he dreamed of becoming a football player and played tennis only at the instruction of his mother, and she took her son seriously. Already at six, the little athlete became one of the three best tennis players of his age in the entire Soviet Union.
At a very young age, Marat went to America to attend a tennis academy. Then 9-year-old Anna Kournikova went to the USA with him, who stayed there, but Safin did not like America, he did not show good results and returned to Moscow again.
Parents did not just try to send their son to train abroad. In the 90s, the boy simply did not have a place to train in Russia; all sports schools were in terrible condition. Already in 1994, Safina’s mother obtained a grant from a Swiss bank and nevertheless sent Marat to study sports outside of his homeland. It is from this moment that it begins independent life 14 year old boy. Marat trained in Spain at the Tennis Academy. Pancho Alvarina. I had to live very modestly.
Start professional career started in 1997. The athlete took part in a tournament in Espino, where tennis players who were among the second hundred best in the world competed. Then for Marat, it seemed, these were unattainable heights. Marat performed more than successfully at the tournament, followed by the Kremlin Cup, which did not go well and ended in loss. After this, a streak of luck began in the tennis player’s career. So, having started at the position of 204th in the 1998 ranking, in 1999 he became 45th.
Many famous tennis players had to be defeated by a young and talented athlete. Marat became the hope not only of his mother, but of the entire sports world. In 2000, Safin became the best in the world. At the age of 20, at the American Open Tennis Championship, Marat beat Pete Sampras himself and became the first racket of the world. After 9 weeks, he lost this place to Gustav Kuerten.
Often, due to injuries that disrupted training, career highs were accompanied by serious failures. Marat missed all of 2003 due to a long recovery process from an injury; already in 2004 he was able to return to his previous form and a year later he won the long-awaited Grand Slam tournament.
Then the athlete’s career remained at the world level, but he was no longer able to be the best. The 25-year-old athlete spent his last season in 2009 in 24th place in the ranking. On November 11, 2009, 14 thousand people said goodbye to the tennis player at his final match in France.
A few years later, in July 2009, the athlete’s decision seemed unexpected to many run for the State Duma. The athlete achieved his goal and became deputy from the Nizhny Novgorod region. It was at this moment that Safin’s new career began - political. “A lot of things here are similar to sports,” the tennis player said.
Personal life of Marat Safin
All the world's tabloids watched Safin's personal life. The first relationship developed in Spain with a girl named Silvia even before the tennis player became famous. The young people dated for 4 years, but as soon as Marat succeeded in sports, the relationship ended.
WITH Ekaterina Bestuzheva The romantic relationship lasted almost a year, but did not look like it was serious.
Started in 2004 serious romance with the designer Daria Zhukova. The world's media were waiting for the couple to announce their engagement, but Daria chose Roman Abromovich over Marat.
No wonder that the athlete has an illegitimate daughter, Eva, which he sees no more than once every six months. The girl’s mother, businesswoman Valeria, found out about her pregnancy after she broke up with Safin. A tennis player allocates a certain amount of money every month to raise a child.
The success of Marat Safin was predetermined in childhood by the efforts of his mother. Now, after the tennis player’s career ended and he managed to change his field of activity, we can say with confidence that the family of the famous tennis player and director of the Spartak club managed to raise a great athlete.
Winner of two Grand Slam cups in singles, twice winner of the Davis Cup competition as part of the Russian national team, winner of 17 ATP games, Marat Safin is so popular in our country due to his achievements that his name is familiar even to those completely far from tennis.
The beginning of the career of Marat Safin
The son of the head of the Spartak-Shiryaevo Pole sports base and one of the best tennis players in the USSR, Rauza Islanova, had every chance to become interested in tennis at a young age. Marat was six years old when he began regular training, and at ten he, along with other young athletes, went to the qualifying stage for admission to Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy. He did not pass this selection, but four years later he ended up with mentor Rafael Mensua at the Valencian Academy of Pancho Alvarin. Marat lived and trained in Spain for four years.
Professional start of a tennis player
Seventeen-year-old Marat Safin played his first match as a professional athlete in 1997 at the Kremlin Cup. Although he lost the fight, Safin attracted a lot of attention. The next year was very busy - he was part of the Russian team at the Davis Cup and reached the fourth rounds at the Open Championships in France and the USA. As a result, Safin received the title of discovery of the year and took a place in the ranking of the 50 best tennis players according to the ATP version.
A bright career in big sports
In 1999, young Marat Safin won his first ATP title in Boston and reached the final of the Masters tournament. In 2000, the incredible happened - six ATP titles and a Grand Slam Cup for winning the US Open, and Marat took the top of the ATP rankings for two weeks. The following year, two more titles are added to the athlete’s treasury of achievements. In 2002, he won the Masters series tournament and participated in the national team's victory at the Davis Cup.
Decline of Glory
The following year was unproductive, and 2004 brought him two Masters and winning a competition in Beijing. In 2005 there was a victory at the Australian Open, and this became the last title for Safin in singles - only a year later he was able to loudly declare himself by winning the Davis Cup together with his national team colleagues, and in 2009 end his career after losing the final of the Paris Masters.
Today Marat Safin is right hand Shamil Tarpishchev (head Russian Federation tennis) and a State Duma deputy from the Nizhny Novgorod region.
Marat Safin Biography - Tennis player
Winner of two Grand Slam singles tournaments, former world number one and former State Duma deputy, tennis player Marat Safin, as they say, was born with a racket in his hands. Today, after completing his professional career, he still cannot completely give up the sport. Marat participates in veterans' matches, and in 2016 he became the first Russian tennis player to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Sports family
Marat Safin could hardly have avoided a sports career. His mother Rauza Islanova was one of the best tennis players in the USSR in the 1970s. The father of the future champion, Mubin Alekseevich, worked in the Spartak sports community. The mother took her son to practice, so he learned the basics of tennis with early years. At the age of 6, the boy began to study seriously, thanks to which he entered a tennis academy in Spain. There he not only learned the skill, but also mastered Spanish almost perfect.
The first success came to Marat in 1997. He went to the ATP Challenger World Tour in Espino (Espinho) in Portugal, where, in the company of eminent tennis players, he was able to win the competition for the first time. Over the next year, Safin managed to get into the list of the 50 best athletes. At the French Open, he defeated, as well as the current champion at that time, Gustavo Kuerten. This could not go unnoticed by the tennis world. At the age of 18, Marat had already received approval from the sports community; they predicted a great future for him, and they were not mistaken.
Significant victories of Marat Safin
Marat first came to Wimbledon in the same 1998, but could not defeat. At the US Open he loses to the world number one, but this was not their last meeting. Safin took a kind of revenge in 2000, when at the same US Open, having reached the final, he actually defeated Pete. This was the first important title for the tennis player. This is exactly what all sports publications wrote: “Marat Safin Beats Pete Sampras.”
In those years already world star signed a successful contract with the German sports giant adidas. In an interview in 1998, Safin said that he felt like just a Russian tennis player who was ranked 48th in the world. No more and no less. On the one hand, it sounds modest, but also quite significant.
On the way to his second Grand Slam victory, Marat Safin managed to beat compatriot Mikhail Youzhny, Tommy Haas and again Pete Sampras. He became the first racket of the world and held this status for nine weeks. As a member of the national team, Safin won the Davis Cup in 2002.
At the Australian Open in 2004, having defeated Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals and then Andre Agassi, Marat lost to Roger Federer in the final. A year later he returned there to become the first. By that time, the tennis player had changed his coach to the Swede Peter Lundgren, and dedicated his victory to him.
Unfortunately, Marat was plagued by a knee injury. Since 2006, after another victory at the Davis Cup, the tennis player's success has gradually faded away. They also say that some defeats were associated with the athlete’s excessive emotionality. He could not restrain himself, often broke rackets right on the court, and lost his temper. However, at the end of his career, he still reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon, which no Russian had ever done before.
A farewell ceremony was held on the Center Court in Bercy in Paris after Marat's last match. Many famous tennis players attended. On big screen They showed a video of the athlete’s most significant matches. Safin briefly and succinctly said goodbye to everyone:
“Today I put all my memories, victories and defeats in a small box. The door is closed, and hopefully others will open.”
Personal life of Marat Safin
Marat had no less interesting events happening outside the court. The charming handsome man was famous for his affairs with Russian celebrities, such as model Tatyana Korsakova, designer Daria Zhukova and actress Elena Korikova. Marat was a media personality; the press often discussed his personal life, which the tennis player was dissatisfied with. Discussions that Safin and his friend were more than once seen with girls of, so to speak, easy virtue, caused a storm of emotions in the athlete. To this he replied that he could not always think about tennis.
Marat never married; he has a daughter with Valeria Yakubovskaya, whom he helps financially. The latest lover of the heartthrob is opera singer Aida Garifullina. Although, according to the latest data, they have already broken up.
After career
Marat Safin earned a lot of money through prize money and contracts with Rolex. Until 2017, the tennis player worked in the State Duma, but left there with the words that he could be useful in the world of sports.
“A lot has happened in recent years, I was inducted into the Hall of Fame. This is a significant thing for us. After this, proposals began to come in professional activity, and from the field of business, which are also interesting to me. I think I’ll be more useful here.”
In the fall of 2019, Marat Safin captivated the Russian public with his comments on the final of the men's US Open and Rafael Nadal. The eccentric manner of commentary was noted everywhere, and a number of catchphrases Safin was immediately snapped up for quotes:
- Oops, picked it well! Bravo!
- Nadal plays football very well. He could become the best at Spartak or Zenit.
- I hope I explain it well. If not, then sorry.
- Oh, and this is an actress from the TV series The Americans. An excellent series about Russian illegal spies. I recommend watching it, it's on Netflix. Could this even be said on air? - Either you attack, or you will be torn apart.
- Come on, give me the scythe. Let's go ahead and give it a go.
- Nadal is also nervous. Look, his hair is already falling out.
- Hit the body. If he had gotten it in the meat, he would have won the ball. And he gave me an intellectual.
- Don’t scold me too much, I’m still not a real commentator.
Marat Safin is a Russian tennis player, the first Russian to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (2016). Winner of 15 titles, winner of two Grand Slam tournaments - the US Open in 2000 and the Australian Open in 2005. Marat remained in the memory of fans not only as a great player, but also as the most emotional tennis player in the world. His actions on the court sometimes dismayed the judges and the public with their extravagance and impulsiveness.
Childhood and youth
Marat Safin, a Tatar by nationality, was born in Moscow on January 27, 1980. The boy's parents were directly involved in sports. Mom Rauza Islanova was one of the most successful tennis players 10 years before the birth of her son. Soviet Union(later became a coach), and father Mubin Alekseevich held an administrative post in the Spartak sports society. In 1986, a daughter, Dinara, was born into the family, who also later became a tennis player and the first racket of the world.
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Marat Safin in his youth
From an early age, Marat was surrounded by athletes - his mother returned to work early and took the child with her to the court. Already taking his first steps in tennis, the boy showed brilliant results, although at that time he was more interested in football.
When Marat was 6 years old, his mother began training seriously. Soon Safin was sent to a tennis academy in Cincinnati, USA, along with Anna Kournikova, who subsequently remained in America. Returning home, the guy continued training under his mother and soon received a grant from a Swiss bank to study abroad.
Tennis
In 1997, the mature athlete, whose height is 1.93 m and weighs 88 kg, went to a tennis tournament in Espino. This performance is considered the beginning of his professional sports biography.
At first the guy showed different results, but soon the tennis players of the top hundred began to feel uncomfortable with him on the court.
The best matches in Marat Safin’s career include the competition against the champion previous year, at the French Open (Roland Garros) in 1998. The forces were unequal, but the newcomer, who made it into the main draw through selection, managed to defeat the championship leader.
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By the beginning of the 21st century, Safin had become one of the most successful and famous tennis players on the planet. At the age of 25, the athlete beat the titled Pete Sampras at the US Open Championship and received the status of the first racket of the world. But Marat’s emotionality and impulsiveness prevented him from showing consistent results. The tennis player showed his temper on the court by breaking rackets, especially if he failed to beat his opponent.
The athlete worked steadily as part of the Russian national team’s performances, showing himself to be an excellent team captain. In 2002, the Russian team won the Davis Cup, and Safin made a key contribution to this victory.
Marat's last match took place on November 11, 2009 at the French stadium. 14 thousand tennis fans came to watch the game. At the end of his sports career, Safin’s fortune was estimated at $14 million. The athlete owned a spacious apartment in the center of Moscow and a villa in Monte Carlo.
Since 2009, Safin began to often perform at exhibition tournaments and veteran competitions. In addition, he became vice-president of the Russian Tennis Federation.
In 2011, the athlete became a State Duma deputy from the United Russia party. After 6 years, the tennis player handed over his parliamentary mandate. He explained his decision by the desire to devote more time to work in international sports organizations. In the government, Safin retained the position of public adviser to the Chairman of the State Duma of the 7th convocation, Vyacheslav Volodin, on sports issues.
Personal life
Marat Safin is known for his love affairs, and his novels and photos with new women on social networks attract no less attention to his person than his sports activities. So, in the mid-2000s, his chosen one was designer Dasha Zhukova, whom the tennis player introduced to everyone as his bride. However, the couple soon broke up, and Daria herself later became his wife. The tennis player’s personal life continued to develop rapidly.
At one time, rumors periodically appeared in articles about Marat Safin in the press that his girlfriend was Anna Druzyaka. Marat and Anna were brought together and divorced many times, they prophesied a quick wedding for them or declared that the young couple were expecting a child. During periods of separation from Anna, Safina was noticed in the company of girls, Valeria Yakubovskaya.
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Marat Safin and Dasha Zhukova
There were rumors that Valeria became the mother of Marat's only daughter Eva, but Safin himself denied this statement, saying that he had no children.
In 2016, opera singer Aida Garifullina became the athlete’s lover. Journalists wrote that the star couple was expecting a child and would soon get married, but Safin and Garifullina broke up due to a busy work schedule.
Subsequently, Marat will admit that he feels great without a girlfriend or wife. He cannot stand relationships with the opposite sex that last more than a week. The athlete loves freedom and life for his own pleasure.
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Marat Mubinovich Safin (Tat. Marat Mobin uly Safin). Born on January 27, 1980 in Moscow. Russian tennis player, Honored Master of Sports of Russia, former world number one in singles.
Marat's father, Mubin (Mikhail) Alekseevich, held an administrative position in the structure of the Spartak sports club.
Mother - Rauza Islanova - was one of the leading tennis players in the USSR at the turn of the 1960-1970s, and subsequently a leading Russian tennis coach.
The younger sister is also a professional tennis player, former world number one among women's singles. These are the only siblings in history to become the first rackets in the world.
Tatar by nationality, Muslim by religion.
In addition to Russian, he speaks Spanish and English languages, knows a little Italian and Tatar.
Marat began playing tennis at the age of six at the Spartak - Shiryaevo Pole tennis base, which was managed by his father.
Until the age of 13, his mother was his coach.
At the age of 10, he tried to enter the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, but did not pass the selection. Four years later, his mother makes a new attempt to enroll her son in a tennis academy, this time at the Pancho Alvarin Academy in Valencia and succeeds. He studied there for 4 years, under the guidance of Rafael Mensua.
Safin began his professional career in 1997. In September 1997, he won the first tournament of the Challenger series in Espinho, Portugal. In October, he played for the first time at an ATP tour tournament - the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, but the debut was unsuccessful - in the first match, Marat lost to the Dane Kenneth Carlsen - 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4).
In the spring of 1998, 18-year-old Marat made his debut at the Davis Cup against the US team. Marat played three matches against famous opponents and lost to Andre Agassi in three sets - 3-6, 3-6, 3-6, then paired with Kafelnikov in four games he lost to Todd Martin and Richie Reneberg. Evgeniy won both of his singles matches, so the confrontation between Safin and Courier became decisive. Marat took the first set to zero, in the second he took the lead - 4-1, but ultimately lost in a stubborn five-set match to the experienced Courier - 6-0, 4-6, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6.
In the summer, Safin at the French Open, having qualified, consistently defeated Agassi and the current champion, Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten. Thus, Marat Safin became the first player in the history of the Grand Slam tournaments who managed to break through the qualifications and defeat the reigning champion. In the fourth round of the tournament, Marat was stopped in five sets by Frenchman Cedric Piolin - 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 4-6. With this performance, Marat attracted the attention of the tennis community and for the first time entered the Top 100 of the world rankings.
In September 1999, Safin won his first match in the Davis Cup - against the Japanese Takao Suzuki in the playoffs. At the tournament in Ostrava, in the first round, Marat defeats another player of the world elite, court owner Petr Korda - 6-4, 6-2, but in next game lost to Swede Nicholas Kulti - 6-7(4), 6-7(1). Tennis experts immediately noted Marat and at the end of the season, Safin received the ATP award as rookie of the year.
Marat won his first ATP title at the age of 19 years and 7 months in Boston.(warm-up tournament before the US Open, in August), beating the Englishman Greg Rusedski in the final - 6-4, 7-6 (11), becoming the youngest Russian winner in the history of ATP tournaments.
At the 2000 US Open, Safin achieved one of the most important successes of his career. Having overcome difficulties in the first rounds, Marat played out and, reaching the semi-final match with last year’s finalist - the American veteran giant Todd Martin (he is ten years older and five centimeters taller than the 193-centimeter Safin, who was 20 that summer), won in three sets. And in the final against Pete Sampras, he literally destroyed him - 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 without losing a single serve, having fought off two break points. Perfectly timed shots along the lines and only 12 unforced errors per match. Safin not only outplayed his opponent on the back line, but also had superiority in serve (Marat's 12 aces included only two double faults, while Sampras's similar figures were 8 and 4). Thus, Safin won his first Grand Slam title, becoming the second Russian to achieve this achievement.
On Olympic Games Marat made his debut in 2000 in Sydney. In the first round, he faced one of the most inconvenient opponents for him - the Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, and Safin lost 6-1, 1-6, 4-6. In October, at the Kremlin Cup, Safin reached the semi-finals. At another Russian tournament in St. Petersburg, Safin manages to win his 6th title this year and 7th in his career (in the final he defeated Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty - 2-6, 6-4, 6-4). This allowed Safin to officially lead the ranking of professional tennis players for the first time in his career. he became at that time the youngest number one in the history of tennis(though already in next year this title was taken from Marat by the Australian Lleyton Hewitt). He became the second Russian after Yevgeny Kafelnikov to achieve this achievement.
Marat Safin, 3 weeks before the end of the season, came out on top for the second time in the ATP Champions Race-2000. The Russian was 20 points ahead of his closest pursuer, Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten. Before the final tournament of the year in Lisbon at the Masters in the famous Bercy hall in Paris, many were waiting for the final Safin - Kuerten. Marat actually made it to the final in Paris for the second year in a row, defeating Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in the semifinals in 52 minutes - 6-2, 6-2, while the Brazilian sheathed his racket, losing two stubborn tiebreakers to Mark Philippoussis in the semifinals. In the final, the Russian defeated the Australian 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(8) and won this prestigious tournament. Thus, Marat goes to the Final Tournament of the year as the first racket of the world with a small lead over Kuerten.
In 2001, Marat topped the ATP rankings twice more (for 4 and 3 weeks), bringing his total tally to 9 weeks at the top.
Marat started the 2002 season well - reaching the final of the Australian Open, defeating compatriot Mikhail Youzhny and two world elite players - Pete Sampras and Tommy Haas - on the way to this final. But Marat did not succeed in becoming a two-time Grand Slam champion - in the final, in which Marat was considered the favorite, he was defeated by Swedish tennis player Thomas Johansson 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-7 (4). The decisive match took place on the 22nd birthday of the Russian tennis player, who, it turns out, deprived himself of the gift. In the post-match interview, the Russian referred to nervous exhaustion which was the reason for his failure.
At the end of November 2002 he played in the Davis Cup final as part of the Russian national team. The meeting took place on clay, and Safin and the Russian team managed to win the most prestigious team cup in tennis for the first time, defeating the French team - 3-2, however, the hero of that final was not Safin, but Mikhail Youzhny, who won precisely in the fifth, decisive meeting. Marat, together with Yevgeny Kafelnikov, lost a pair in five sets, but won both singles matches entrusted to him - against his “offender” at the Kremlin Cup, Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 and Sebastian Grosjean 6 -3, 6-2, 7-6(11).
At the 2005 Australian Championships Safin arrived as the fourth racket, so he could not get strong opponents at the start. In the first round, his opponent was 17-year-old Serbian Novak Djokovic, a debutant in Grand Slam tournaments, who then managed to take only three games from Marat - 6-0, 6-2, 6-1. Then they beat Bogdan Uligrach, Mario Ancic, Olivier Rochus and Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty in the quarterfinals. In the semi-finals, Marat Safin defeats Roger Federer in an incredibly difficult five-set match. Federer had a match point on his serve in the fourth set tiebreak, but Safin did not flinch, circling the world ranking leader as he approached the net with a candle. Safin later called this match a battle of “tennis minds.”
Safin's victory ended Federer's 26-match winning streak against top-ten players. In the final, Safin faced the host of the competition, Lleyton Hewitt. Thanks to successful play and conversion of break points (4 out of 11), Marat wins with a score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and becomes the owner of the second Grand Slam title in the last 5 years. At that moment, no one would have believed that for the Russian that title would be the last single title in his career. After winning the 2005 Australian Open, Safin stated that he owed his successful performance to the presence of his new coach Peter Lundgren: "I didn't believe in myself until I started working with Peter."
He ended his professional career in 2009 at the Masters tournament in Paris. “Today I put all my memories, victories and defeats in a small box. The door is closed - and I hope another one will open,” he said in parting.
Almost immediately after the end of his professional career, Marat began participating in exhibition and veteran matches.
Immediately after the end of his career, Marat Safin planned to run for the post of vice-president of the Russian Olympic Committee on December 17, 2009, but in the end he was not elected to this position.
On November 19, 2010, by order of the President of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpishchev, Marat Safin was appointed acting vice-president of the FTR on a voluntary basis. His responsibilities included working on holding international tennis tournaments in Russia, as well as representing the FTR on the international tours of the ATP and WTA.
In July 2011, Marat Safin decided to run for the State Duma on the United Russia list. In the United Russia primaries, Safin was among the winners from the Nizhny Novgorod region.
Interesting facts about Marat Safin:
Marat Safin is known for his outbursts of emotion during matches. He broke an incredible number of racquets, and at the 2004 French Open, during a match against Felix Mantilla, he lowered his shorts to his hips after winning another point.
Marat Safin is the tallest player (height - 193 cm) in the history of the ATP, who managed to become the first racket of the world, as well as the tallest player who won more than one Grand Slam singles tournament.
During his career, Marat Safin, of all the winners of the Grand Slam tournaments with whom he met on the court, did not defeat only Rafael Nadal (balance of personal meetings - 0-2), Richard Krajicek (0-1), Patrick Rafter (0-1) and Juan Martina Del Potro (0-1).
Despite his already famous instability in the game, in the period from Wimbledon 2001 to Roland Garros 2002, it was Marat Safin who was the most stable player in the ATP, in these four tournaments on different coatings reaching at least the quarterfinals.
During his career, Marat Safin was famous for his very powerful, but not always stable serve. However, Safin in the semi-finals of the 2004 Australian Open against Andre Agassi set a record - for the first time since 1991, when the ATP began collecting similar statistics, a player who made 31 aces (and not 33, as other sources report) did not make a single double fault - a record , which was repeated only at the Australian Open 2010 by Andy Roddick against Fernando Gonzalez. It is important to note that both Marat and Andy Roddick won those matches.
Safin’s most persistent and principled rivals were the Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty and the Australian Lleyton Hewitt, with whom it was never clear which of them was stronger (with both players it was a draw - 7:7), as well as the same-year-old Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero (and with it's a draw - 6:6).
Marat's most inconvenient opponents: Roger Federer (personal match score - 2:10), Frenchmen Fabrice Santoro (personal match score - 2:7) and Gael Monfils (personal match score - 0:4), Swede Andreas Vinciguierra (0:4) , as well as Chilean Fernando Gonzalez (3:6).
Marat himself did not defeat a single player at least ten times (his main “client” during his career was the Spaniard Alberto Martin - his personal score was 7:0), and the only person who beat him at least ten times was Federer.
Like unhappy opponents, Marat also had unhappy tournaments - Safin lost twice in the finals in Hamburg, twice in the Australian Open, and twice in the Kremlin Cup, although he still won the Australian Open on the third attempt.
Marat Safin's height: 193 centimeters.
Personal life of Marat Safin:
Marat had a stormy personal life, which was always actively covered in the media.
The tennis player had an affair with (later the wife of Roman Abramovich).
Then he met with actress Elena Korikova.
Later, the lead singer of the group “Brilliant” became his passion; they met in 2008-2009.
From a short affair with Valeria Yakubovskaya, Marat had a daughter, Eva, who lives with her mother, and Safin allocates funds for her upbringing.
Since mid-2015, he has been dating an opera singer, whom he met by chance at a party with mutual friends.
