Marat Safin
Being a former world number one is the greatest achievement Marat
Safin has to show for his professional tennis career. He has held this
distinction for 9 consecutive weeks in the year 2000. He has two Grand
Slam titles in his belt. His first Grand Slam win came at the 2000 US
Open where he defeated Pete Sampras in the Finals. He has also won the
2005 Australian Open y winning over Lleyton Hewitt in the finals.
He showed his love for his country by playing in the Davis Cup and
helped them win it twice, in 2002 and 2006. Some of his achievements in
the court include beating Andrea Agassi and Gustavo Kuerten in the 1998
French Open.
The 2007 Australian Open is his first Australian Open after winning
it in 2005. He missed the 2006 Australian Open due to an injury. He was
ousted from the tournament in the third round after a 3 hour long match
against Andy Roddick. In April, he helped his country win a quarterfinal
match at the Davis Cup against France. He reached the third round of the
Wimbledon only to lose to Roger Federer. He won the doubles title in
Moscow’s Kremlin Cup. This is his first ATP title since winning the 2005
Australian Open title.
In 2008, to prepare for the Australian Open, Safin competed at the
AAMI Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, Australia. He finished third place in
the said exhibition tournament. At the Australian Open, he was defeated
in the second round by Baghdatis in an arduous 5 set game. In February
he was granted wildcard status in 2 events. In the Memphis tournament,
he was ousted in the first round by Thomas Johansson. Then in the Las
Vegas tournament, he reached the semifinals but was beaten by
Lleyton
Hewitt. After that, he suffered back to back first round defeats in
Tournament at Indian Wells and Miami.
Then he served his country again by winning a Davis Cup match against
the Czech Republic. He faced World Number 9 Tomas Berdych. It is his
first win against a top ten player since the 2006 US Open. He then
played in a tournament in Valencia. He won over former world number 1
Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first round. Then in the second round he lost
to Robin Haase. He also suffered a second round defeat in the Monte
Carlo Masters.
In the BMW Open in Germany, Safin achieved his first quarterfinal
finish of the year. He competed in the French Open but was ousted in the
second round by his countryman Nikolay Davydenko. He entered the
Wimbledon Championships and reached the semifinals where he faced world
number 1 Roger Federer. Though he lost the match, it is his best
Wimbledon finish and became the first Russian ever to reach Wimbledon
semifinal. His stint in the Wimbledon also put him back in the top 40 of
the world ranking. After Wimbledon, he entered in the Swedish Open where
he reached the second round. He is scheduled to play at the Cincinnati
and Toronto Hard Court Masters Events where he is awarded wild card
status.
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