Marat Safin: The Russian ‘bad boy’ who brought tennis glory to his country

With the 2023 Australian Open nearing its conclusion, we look back at a charismatic Russian former winner of the event

The Australian Open runs to its conclusion this weekend, with the first Grand Slam of 2023 set to be bookended on Sunday when the men’s championship match is played between record nine-time winner Novak Djokovic and debut finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.

With the exit of Karen Khachanov in the semifinals at the hands of Tsitsipas, Russia is again left ruing a missed opportunity for glory in Melbourne after Daniil Medvedev was beaten in successive finals in the past two editions of the tournament.

Indeed, it is fast approaching two decades since the last Russian man won the title Down Under. On that occasion it was Marat Safin, one of the most charismatic, combustible characters of his or any other generation of tennis talent. The second Russian to win the Australian Open after Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1999, Safin struck gold in 2005 in Melbourne by coming back to beat local favorite Lleyton Hewitt in what was his last great individual triumph.

Despite retiring prematurely in 2009, Safin is far from forgotten in the tennis world – as evidenced by a viral throwback photo which circulated during current edition of the Australian Open, which featured the eye-catching female following in Safin’s box during a past tournament.

Marat Safin's box in 2002 Australian Open, where he lost in the final to Thomas Johansson