Safin bids farewell to tennis in Paris

Marat Safin holds the key of the Bercy stadium, a farewell trophy to mark the end of his career, during BNP Masters indoor tennis tournament in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Safin ended his career with style with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 defeat by Juan Martin del Potro in the second round of the Paris Masters. The 29-year-old Safin, a two-time Grand Slam title winner, put on a great performance on center court Wednesday against the U.S. Open champion.

Marat Safin says goodbye to Tennis in Paris

After an amazing match with Del Potro, Marat Safin retires from tennis in his favorite tournament, Paris, Bercy.

The former champion has won this tournament 3 times before and he chose to end his career at that very same court he adored.

A great ceremony was prepared to honor our beloved Safin. Attending were great player of old times and also of the new generation who wanted to say goodbye in person.

Great words of admiration and respect were said about Marat from the big players like Federer, Nadal, Murray, Djokovic, Verdasco and many more.

see the video here: http://www.fft.fr/bnpparibasmasters/2009_en/?id=5528

goodbye Marat :)

Exclusive Marat Safin's Pictures in Thailand Open

Day One:
28th of September
outside the impact arena 23:30

after winning his first double match Marat Safin signs autographs for his loyal fans. Exclusive footage from maratsafinnews.blogspot.com

click on the images to enlarge and download :)

Safin vs. Sampras, Safin Prevails again

Safin beat Sampras, 6-4, 3-6 (10-6) in the "Millennium Challenge," an exhibition match on the opening day of the Los Angeles Tennis Open at UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center on Monday.

It was a rematch of the 2000 U.S. Open final, where Safin beat Sampras, the L.A. Open tournament honoree, to earn the first of his two Grand Slam titles.

Pete Sampras can still serve more than 120 miles per hour and challenges calls as if they mattered, but in the end, as in 2000, Marat Safin prevailed.

"We're kind of looking backwards, and it's really a warm feeling when [you have] an achievement like beating Sampras in the final of U.S. Open," said Safin.

The Russian also won the doubles first round with Igor Kunitsyn agianst Marcus Baghdatis and Dudi Sela, 6-7, 6-2, 11-9.

Marat is scheduled to play Ginepri in the evening session on Tuesday 28th.

Federer, Safin 3rd round clash in the australian open 2009

After winning his 1st 2 rounds, Marat Safin (2005 champion) will face Roger Federer world no.2 in the 3rd round of the Australian open.

The match is scheduled today, thursday 22/01 at 10 a.m. GMT.

Roger Federer and Marat Safin earned easy victories Wednesday to reach the Australian Open's third round, where the familiarity factor will be much higher: They'll play each other.

“I'm happy to be playing Marat; we have fought some battles,” Roger Federer said after ousting error-prone Evgeny Korolev of Russia 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in just 86 minutes. “We had the epic in 2005.”

That was a semifinal thriller here that Marat Safin won in a 9-7 fifth set en route to the championship. Federer, seeking to tie Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles, has won their last three meetings, including the last two at Wimbledon.

Although Federer's No. 2 ranking is 24 places higher, Safin's talent, unpredictability and famed volatility set the stage for an early marquee matchup.

Safin, a former world No. 1, beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. He will turn 29 next week and has said he is unlikely to play after this year, so he's trying to enjoy what could be his farewell tour.

“I have nothing to lose,” Safin said. “I'm going to go for it. Whatever comes, comes. He knows how to play against me; I know how to play against him.”

Safin's bloody good show and the slovaks win hopman cup

Arriving in perth, bruised and battered didn't stop Safin in reaching the final i hopman cup.

the russian teamed up with his sister Dinara Safina currently world no.3 and ended runner ups of the tournament.

Dominika Cibulkova and Dominik Hrbaty led Slovakia to the Hopman Cup title Friday with singles victories over Russian siblings Dinara Safina and Marat Safin.

Cibulkova beat Safina 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-4 Friday to give Slovakia a 1-0 lead and hand Safina her first singles loss of the tournament. Hrbaty then beat Safin, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (3) to clinch the championship before about 8,000 people at the Burswood Dome.

Each team had 3-0 records going into the final and led its group in round-robin play of the mixed teams event.

It was Slovakia’s third title in the 21-year history of the Hopman Cup. Hrbaty also won in 2005, with Daniela Hantuchova.

Safina gave away three set points in the 10th game of the opening set.

Trailing 5-1 in the deciding set, she won the next three games, but Cibulkova held her serve in the final game to take the match. It was the Slovakian’s first win over Safina in three career matches.

“I was up 5-1 and suddenly it was 5-4, then she had a break point so I was really fighting,” Cibulkova said. “I’m just so happy I beat her. I had to play aggressive.”

Safin, who was unusually subdued during his group matches, displayed his typical volatility in the final, smashing a racket in the first set.

The 28-year-old, who has said he will retire at the end of 2009, also entertained the crowd. During a tense moment in the third set, with Hrbaty struggling to hold serve, Safin gave the net judge a kiss on the cheek after his wayward forehand hit her in the body.

Russian former world number one Marat Safin believes little sister Dinara Safina is poised for a breakthrough Grand Slam win at the upcoming Australian Open.

The fiery siblings teamed up on the court for the first time at the mixed teams Hopman Cup here this week, reaching the final only to lose to Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova and Dominik Hrbaty.

Despite her surprise loss to Cibulkova on Friday, Safin, who won the Australian Open title in 2005, said his sister was ready to lift the women's title and also become world number one.

"I think she is ready," he said. "She had a tough match, Cibulkova played incredible tennis.

"It is going to be a different story in Australian Open. There are going to be a lot of nerves, she's not defending anything because she lost first round last year, but she has a huge chance.

"She has a big chance to get closer to number one and I think she is looking for this and she is ready to be there."

Meanwhile Safin, who arrived with two black eyes from a fist fight in Moscow, was also confident about his final season before retirement after showing great form in his wins against Simone Bolelli and Lu Yen-Hsun.

"I am happy with how I am playing and I ready to go to Melbourne," said the world number 29.

"I am quite confident, the way I am playing after two months without touching a racquet, it is not bad tennis I am showing."

Marat Safin interview after winning his first match in hopman cup

Listen to the full interview Exclusive!

Russian tennis great Marat Safin overcame plenty to give his Russian team, also consisting of his sister, an opening Tie Hyundai Hopman Cup victory.

Safin, a former world No. 1, US and Australian Open winner, has decided that 2009 will be his final year on the Tour and he could have hardly made a more newsworthy beginning to it.

While his younger sister Dinara Safina has been in Perth training hard for the last week, Safin was having his own problems back home in Moscow.

Having been involved in an altercation a week ago which left him with one black eye, one cut eye and an injured thumb, it didn’t stop him beating Italy's Simone Bolelli to seal the Tie for the Russians.

While he contemplated retirement at the end of his 2008 campaign, Safin has decided to have a farewell tour this year and a big factor in that was the chance to play alongside his sister at the Hyundai Hopman Cup.

He might not be willing to reveal what his future holds, but he would about why he has come to the Cup for the fourth time.

"It's probably going to be my last year for sure and I'm moving onto my new life. I have no pressure and will do what I can to make it easy for me to play good tennis. Hopefully I can enjoy it and get some good results," Safin said.

"Leave it up to me (what I do in the future). I don’t want to speculate, but my bosses know about it and want to do it this way. You'll see.

"It's always a pleasure to come here, especially when you have a great companion on your team like my sister. I couldn’t refuse the offer to play with her especially as it's the first time and here, where there's a nice atmosphere, everyone is enjoying it and a lot of people are watching."

As for his incident last week, Safin did reveal his remnants were looking worse days ago and that it came from a fight that he prevailed in. He was delighted to play well still despite that and his late arrival in Perth.

"It was some small problem where I wasn’t in the right place at the right time, let's put it this way," he said.

"Yes, I won the fight. I'm OK now. It happened a week ago but I came out and won my match after not playing for two months, so that was pretty good."

Safin had a massive trip to make from Russia to Perth only landing on Saturday night, before having a light hit on court before being ready to play on Sunday, and to play well with 14 aces pleased him.

"I was struggling a little bit after flying forever and arriving late last night, so I couldn't practice a lot," he said.

"I warmed up a little today and tried to get through my match. It's tough to play your best tennis and it's more difficult to move and serve, so it becomes too complicated to play good tennis."

Taking the pressure off himself with it being his last year could well be a blessing in disguise for the 28-year-old, who is confident of having one of his best years before retiring. That could start at the Australian Open where he's a past winner, but he won't miss the game.

"Not really (in response to being asked if he would miss tennis). I'm OK. I like to play, but also enjoy my life and I'm not really crazy about it," he said.

"I am looking forward to playing well there, and hopefully I can have a good draw. I would prefer to play with somebody who can give me some pace so I can get used to the courts and conditions and then after the third round I will be ready to play a tough one.

"I just want to enjoy it, not have any pressure on myself and I don’t care what the results will be if I'm having fun. It's much easier than when people expect things from you, so hopefully I can have my best results this year without the pressure."

Marat safin new girlfriend! exclusive!

Exclusive pictures of Marat safin girlfriend, Nastya Osipova, on court











Marat Safin with both of the girlfriends!

Marat safin new girlfriend! exclusive!

Exclusive on maratsafinnews.blogspot.com the pictures of marat's new girlfriend.

Marat Safin is famous for both his tennis and dating skills. His new girlfriend is Nastya Osipova, a Russian pop singer.

Cheers for the Runner up Marat Safin

Safin, seeded seventh and bidding to claim his first title in almost four years, reached the final without hitting a ball when his semi-final opponent, German Mischa Zverev, withdrew with illness on Saturday.

The big Russian has not tasted success since winning the Australian Open in January 2005.

''I have only myself to blame,'' said Safin, who also lost to compatriot Nikolay Davydenko in the 2006 final in Moscow.

''If I had won the first set, it would have been a different story but he gained confidence as the match went on, played well in the end and deserved his victory.''

Marat Safin became the runner up of the Kremlin cup today!
Congratulations to the Finalist our beloved Marat Safin.

Safin was beaten by Kunitsyn 6 -7, 7-6, 3-6 in kremlin cup Final.

Reaching a final match is a goal achieved for Marat Safin after 3 disappointing years.

Keep it up:)

Hot Russian Girls Pop group "Blestyaschie" celebrating the final

Marat Safin reached the final of Kremlin cup, Moscow

Safin's first Final of the year is finally here:)

Marat safin reached the final of The Kremlin cup in his homeland.

11.10.2008 Misha Zverev retired from the semifinals of the “Kremlin Cup”-2008

The semifinalist Misha Zverev retired from the tournament for health problems!

Therefore Marat Safin walks over to the final and awaits the winner of Fabrice Santoro and Igor Kunitsyn.

Marat Safin autograph session on 11.10.2008

Marat Safin is in the semifinals of the “Kremlin Cup”-2008

Marat Safin won Nikolay Davydenko! Oh my God!

The upset of the defending champion of kremlin cup was today by the hands of the giant Marat Safin.

Marat Safin beat Nikolay Davydenko 7/6, 4/6, 6/4 reaching the semifinals of the “Kremlin Cup”-2008. He will play Igor Kunitsyn who beat Jeremy Chardy 6/4, 6/2 in the quarterfinals of the “Kremlin Cup”-2008.

Marat didn't win a consecutive 3 matches since wimbledon 2008. This is huge for the former no. 1.

Marat Safin at Player`s party in "Shokolad" club

Watch the match summary video here

Marat Safin of Russia signs autographs after defeating Nikolay Davydenko of Russia during day five of the Kremlin Cup Tennis at the Olympic Stadium on October 10, 2008 in Moscow, Russia.

Also Today october 10th, Dinara Safina beat her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova 6/4, 7/5 in the quarterfinal of the “Kremlin Cup”-2008. “I managed to play well against Sveta,- said the winner after the match. – I tried to think on the court placing the ball smartly”.
Thus all the participants of tomorrow’s semifinals have become known: Jelena Jankovic will play Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina – Vera Dushevina.

Marat safin advances to Quarter Final

Marat Safin in action playing Julienne Benneteu in kremlin cup, Moscow

The Russian made it today!

Marat Safin won Julienne Benneteau 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 in second round of the Kremlin Cup.

congratulations on the consecutive match win Marat!

Marat is to play Nikolay Davydenko in quarter final.
Nikolay Davydenko has truly established himself in the record books at this tournament. He's the two-time defending champion and going for a fourth crown in the Russian capital.

He's been looking like a potential champion again this week, sweeping aside Florent Serra and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez without dropping a set. Garcia-Lopez was allowed just two games.

Safin, in contrast, has been pushed all the way by Noam Okun and Julien Benneteau. Safin's round-one match with Okun was so tight that Safin himself lost track of the score and didn't realize he'd won when the moment came! On Thursday he had to fight back from a mental lapse in the second set which saw him get bageled 6-0.

Marat safin won Noam Okun

Marat Safin upset the qualifier Noam Okun of Israel in the first roud of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Safin won 7.6(5) 3.6 6.4.

Marat Safin is playing Julien Benneteau the Frenchman in second round.

Link to match statistics
Link to the Draw

Kremlin cup 2008 (Кубок Кремля)

Kremlin Cup

Moscow, Russia, Olympic Stadium
October 6-12, 2008
Tier I
Prize Money: $1,340,000
Draw: 28M/32Q/16D
Surface: Supreme/Indoors
Tournament Director: Aleksei Selivanenko

Marat plays Okun Noam a qualifier in first round on Tuesday October 7th.
Marat Safin is seeded n. 7 in the tournament.

Marat Safin was the runner up in 2006. he lost to Nikolay Davydenko.
Marat won the doubles title last year 2007 with Dmitry Tursunov.

Link to website in English
Link to website in Russian