The Standpoint

Goodbye, Safin

by

Abhishek Mukherjee

At the age of 29, with loss to Argentine del Potro in the Paris Masters, the ever-entertaining Marat Safin called it a day. It had been a troublesome few months for him; with at most average performances taking into account his quality and credentials. His last noteworthy result was the 2008 Wimbledon Semi-Finals, in which he had defeated Novak Djokovic en route to the penultimate stage of the prestigious tournament. His tennis career has been full of ups and downs, but the Russian would have peace with the fact that he was his own master.

Virtues like discipline and stability were antonyms to Safin. Nine years ago, the young boy of 20 stunned the tennis fraternity when he defeated legend Pete Sampras in straight sets and claimed the US Open. The world showered praise for this new wonder-boy and predicted high honours for him.

Yet as they say, it is not the talent but the temperament which ultimately makes a player. Marat seemed to be more fascinated by off-field life – his friends, his cars and his parties; and his tennis did not take off the way it was expected. It is understandable when it is acknowledged that he emerged from modest means. It would be unfair, however, to dwell more on his personal life as his injuries did not help matters either. For the next four-five years, he was recognised as a decent player for his parts played in Davis Cup ties for Russia, and a finals appearance in the Australian Open in 2002; but it was not the future as expected, for his talent was immensely more than what results showed. Fabrice Santoro, asked to comment on his encounter with Lleyton Hewitt in Paris-Bercy final in 2002, said: “This is the number one in the world against the best player (Safin) in the world”.

In the Australian Open 2004, Marat finally looked to be able to come of age. He finished a proud runner-up to the other legend Roger Federer. Towards the end of that year, Marat caught amazing form which eventually culminated in the Australian Open triumph in early 2005. In the Semi-Finals, he clashed with a Roger Federer at peak, and saved a match point in the fourth set to defeat him 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 9-7 in one of the most thrilling matches in tennis history. He destroyed the home favourite Lleyton Hewitt in four sets in the finals to claim his second grand slam.

However, this was not a sign for things to come. He could be considered unlucky to be in the same era as Sampras and Federer - two of the greatest players in history, but Marat did not deliver enough on the tennis court. Yet he remained a most interesting player to watch. Breaking of rackets on the court as a vent of rage was his patent, as was also his honest and outspoken comments. He never worried about others’ opinions about him. Many times he tended to throw away his grip on matches by not being hungry enough on the court. He was perfectly dignified, honest and possessed a good sense of humour. His antics were dear to his passionate fans.

Marat got what he wanted –enjoyable life, dignity and fame. That he remained one of the biggest underachievers in tennis may be of concern to others. Even in the short career that he has had, he has given us more than a couple of moments of the brilliance that might have been.