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

Marat Safin has gone viral during the most recent edition of the Australian Open but was also the last Russian to win the Grand Slam Read Full Article at RT.com

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Jan 28, 2023 - 23:00
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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 from 2002 which circulated during the current edition of the Australian Open, and which featured the eye-catching female following in Safin’s box during his playing days.

A playboy once described as a “two-meter embodiment of women’s dreams” by compatriot Dmitry Tursunov, Safin was often admired for his “frankness, outrageousness and charm” – married with no shortage of talent on the tennis court. The Australian Open was a tournament that Safin graced with all of those attributes, reaching the final three times. The re-emergence of the famous photo from 2002, where he allegedly partied before being beaten by underdog Thomas Johansson in the final, has led to many recalling one of the most colorful characters to have played the game.