Marat Mubinovich Safin is a Russian retired world No 1 tennis player and former politician.
71 Facts About Marat Safin
2.
Marat Safin achieved the Association of Tennis Professionals world No 1 singles ranking on 20 November 2000.
3.
Marat Safin began his professional tennis career in 1997, and held the No 1 ranking for a total of 9 weeks between November 2000 and April 2001.
4.
Marat Safin won his first Grand Slam title at the 2000 US Open, defeating Pete Sampras in the final, and won the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Lleyton Hewitt in the final.
5.
Marat Safin helped lead Russia to Davis Cup victories in 2002 and 2006.
6.
Marat Safin was born in Moscow to Tatar parents, Mubin Marat Safin and Rauza Islanova.
7.
Marat Safin's younger sister, Dinara, is a former world No 1 professional tennis player and silver medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
8.
Marat Safin's father managed the local Spartak Tennis Club, where Marat Safin trained in his youth.
9.
At the age of 14, Marat Safin moved to Valencia, Spain to gain access to advanced tennis training programs which were not available in Russia.
10.
In 1998, Marat Safin consecutively defeated Andre Agassi and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten at the French Open.
11.
Marat Safin won his first ATP title at the age of 19, in Boston, and later in 1999 he reached the Paris, Bercy final, losing a closely contested four-set match to No 1 Andre Agassi.
12.
Marat Safin held the No 1 ATP ranking for 9 weeks during 2000 when he won his first Grand Slam tournament at the US Open, becoming the first Russian in history to win this tournament in the men's singles draw, by defeating Pete Sampras in straight sets.
13.
Marat Safin barely missed finishing the year as No 1, the top spot being overtaken by Gustavo Kuerten at the last match of the season, the final of the 2000 Tennis Masters Cup and ATP Tour World Championships.
14.
Marat Safin reached three more Grand Slam finals, all at the Australian Open.
15.
Marat Safin has cited nervousness as the reason for his loss in the 2002 event, and physical exhaustion for the 2004 loss.
16.
Marat Safin defeated Lleyton Hewitt in the 2005 final to secure his second Grand Slam in five years.
17.
Marat Safin often lost in the first or second rounds in other years, although he made the quarterfinals in 2001, losing in four sets to eventual champion Goran Ivanisevic.
18.
Marat Safin dismissed his performance in the 2001 tournament as a result of luck.
19.
Marat Safin won five ATP Tennis Masters Series titles during his career.
20.
Marat Safin's first was in 2000 when he won the title in Toronto, Canada.
21.
Marat Safin had three wins in Paris, France, and one in 2004 in Madrid, Spain.
22.
Marat Safin was defeated in the early rounds of each of the seven tournaments he played between the Australian Open and the French Open, culminating in an early round defeat at the French Open.
23.
Marat Safin made a surprise finals appearance at the Wimbledon tune-up tournament in Halle on grass.
24.
Marat Safin lost the final narrowly to the defending champion, Federer.
25.
Marat Safin only played one tournament in the summer hard-court season, in Cincinnati, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Robby Ginepri.
26.
Marat Safin began to recover in time for the 2006 US Open, in which Safin defeated No 4 David Nalbandian in a riveting second-round match.
27.
Marat Safin then lost in the fourth round to No 16 Tommy Haas, in a fifth-set tiebreaker.
28.
Marat Safin did not play any warm-up tournaments in the run-up to the Australian Open.
29.
Marat Safin lost against sixth seed Andy Roddick in his third-round match in a grueling 3-hour match.
30.
Marat Safin reached the third round at Wimbledon, before falling to the defending champion Roger Federer.
31.
Marat Safin won the doubles title at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow in October, his first ATP-level title since the 2005 Australian Open.
32.
Marat Safin prepared for the Australian Open at the invitational exhibition tournament, the AAMI Kooyong Classic in Melbourne.
33.
Marat Safin was victorious in his opening match, defeating Andy Murray.
34.
Marat Safin won his first-round match at the Australian Open against Ernests Gulbis in straight sets.
35.
Marat Safin was ousted in the second round after a grueling five-set match against Baghdatis.
36.
Marat Safin defeated No 20-ranked and fourth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.
37.
In spite of the fact that Ferrero is from the Valencia region, Marat Safin was the more popular player, having been based in Valencia for many years and being a well-known Valencia CF fan.
38.
Marat Safin played Dutch teenager Robin Haase in the next round.
39.
Marat Safin had four match points, including one on his serve, but lost the tiebreak, and eventually the match.
40.
Marat Safin then entered the 2008 BMW Open in Munich, Germany, where he beat Carlos Berlocq in the first round.
41.
Marat Safin's victory came as a shock as Djokovic was described as a "serious contender" to win the tournament.
42.
Marat Safin went on to defeat Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal clash with defending champion Roger Federer.
43.
Marat Safin's run to the semifinals was his best record in Wimbledon and made him the first Russian man to ever reach a Wimbledon semifinal.
44.
Marat Safin attributed his great run at Wimbledon to the hard work he was putting in with coach Hernan Gumy.
45.
Marat Safin then played at the Swedish Open, on clay, in Bastad against Marc Lopez, winning in the first round.
46.
Marat Safin was awarded a wild card into the Rogers Cup Masters tournament in Toronto.
47.
Marat Safin was seeded fifth for his next tournament, the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles.
48.
At the US Open, Marat Safin lost in the second round to Tommy Robredo.
49.
Marat Safin then lost his first-round match at the final ATP tournament of the calendar: the Paris Masters, to Juan Monaco.
50.
Marat Safin finished the year 2008 ranked at No 29.
51.
Marat Safin arrived at the event sporting a bandaged right thumb, two black eyes, a blood-filled left eye, and a cut near his right eye, all suffered in a fight several weeks earlier in Moscow.
52.
Marat Safin said he had decided to play the 2009 season because of a great offer from his manager Ion Tiriac, he made this decision despite not having a coach.
53.
Marat Safin withdrew from the Kooyong Classic tournament because of a shoulder injury, but recovered to play his first-round Australian Open match, which he won in straight sets over Ivan Navarro of Spain.
54.
Marat Safin exited in the first round, losing to Richard Gasquet, and exited in the semifinals in doubles with David Ferrer.
55.
Marat Safin played at the Catella Swedish Open at Bastad, where he lost to Nicolas Almagro of Spain.
56.
Marat Safin began his hard-court season by making it to the quarterfinals of the LA Tennis Open, where he lost to Tommy Haas.
57.
Marat Safin lost in the first round of the US Open, his last Grand Slam, to Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
58.
Marat Safin defeated No 6 Nikolay Davydenko in the first round, but lost in the second round.
59.
Marat Safin then played at the 2009 St Petersburg Open, reaching the semifinals.
60.
On 11 November 2009, Marat Safin's career ended with a second-round defeat by reigning US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, after which a special presentation ceremony was held on Centre Court at Bercy.
61.
Marat Safin has a strong and accurate serve and a great forehand, while possessing one of the best two-handed backhands of all time.
62.
Marat Safin was capable of playing at the net, with his volleys being effective.
63.
Marat Safin is known as one of the most talented players ever during his time on the tour; however his career was hampered by persistent injuries and lack of determination that prevented the prolongation of his dominance, and is therefore agreed by many pundits and fans as one of the biggest underachievers in tennis.
64.
Marat Safin was known for his emotional outbursts during matches, and smashed numerous rackets.
65.
Marat Safin is estimated to have smashed 48 racquets in 1999.
66.
In 2011, Marat Safin stated that during his career he broke 1055 racquets.
67.
Marat Safin's racquets used to be strung using Babolat VS Natural Team Gut 17L gauge, but he then switched to Luxilon Big Banger Original at 62 to 67 pounds.
68.
Marat Safin's apparel was manufactured by Adidas and he was the figurehead of the 'Competition' line from 2000 onward.
69.
At the 2003 Australian Open, Marat Safin withdrew prior to the third round.
70.
Since retirement Marat Safin has been an official for the Russian Tennis Federation and a member of the Russian Olympic Committee.
71.
In December 2011, Marat Safin was elected to the Russian Parliament as a member of Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party, representing Nizhny Novgorod.