Can Safin Win Another Grand Slam?
Marat Safin Reaches Wimbledon Last 16
Former world number one, Marat Safin, caused a major upset at Wimbledon 2008 when he ousted one of the tournament favorites, world number three, Novak Djokovic, in straight sets in the second round. Unseeded Safin then moved on to beat 29th-seed Andreas Seppi to earn a spot in the last 16, a feat he hadn’t achieved at any Major since the 2006 US Open. Given the Russian’s sudden resurgence at the All England Club, can Safin recapture his former Grand Slam glory and make a return to the world’s top ten?
Safin stunned the tennis audience worldwide back in the year 2000 when he defeated Pete Sampras in the US Open final. Safin became number one in the world after reaching the Masters Cup semifinals that year, but it took him four more years before he managed to add to his Grand Slam tally.
In January 2005, Safin produced another shocker when he overcame world number one, Roger Federer, at the Australian Open semifinals, in an epic five-set match – 9-7 in the fifth set – before he went on to beat home favorite Lleyton Hewitt in the final, to grab his second Grand Slam.
Safin suffered a knee injury later that year which forced him out of the US Open and prevented him from defending his title in Melbourne the following season. The 28-year-old Russian has not won a title since his Australian Open triumph neither has he passed the fourth round at any Grand Slam.
People have speculated whether Safin, who is famous for his temperamental outbreaks on court, still has what it takes to win another Grand Slam; especially that he seemed to suffer from lack of motivation since recovering from his injury. It seemed like every time Safin displayed glimpses of his beautiful talent, he would show up on court the next day with his head down, hitting ground strokes 5 meters wide. Yet people remain to refer to him as the man who could beat ANYONE on a good day.
Safin, who is now ranked a low 75 in the world, had not managed to win three consecutive matches this season prior to Wimbledon. He now has posted three impressive wins at the All England Club and his next opponent is Swiss rising star, Stanislas Wawrinka (seeded 13), who has a 2-0 head-to-head lead over the Russian.
One can’t deny that Safin’s task at hand is tough, but if he pulls off another upset, there is a high possibility that the spectators at Wimbledon could witness another epic Federer-Safin semifinal.
Even if the Russian star doesn’t make it, his run at Wimbledon bodes nothing but good signs for his remaining season. The rest of the players on tour definitely can sense that Marat Safin is back!
