5 funny Marat Safin stories we remember him by

After watching Sunday’s US Open final between Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal, there is no denying at least two facts: Medvedev is an incredibly promising player, and Marat Safin is a very memorable commentator. “Pivasik”, “sorri”, “podrezulka”, who else could say such words live on Channel One but Safin?

Throughout his career Marat had a great sense of humor, which has not gone away over the years. No clichés, no nerdiness, just a light, cheerful narration from the former world number one. Safin reads the game perfectly and explains its subtleties to the viewers. He also recommended TV series, discussed fans and joked about Nadal’s hair loss. Here are some quotes from his comments:

• “Oh, beer!”
• “Whoa, nice pick! Bravo!”
• “Here comes the hot water.”
• “Nadal is very good at soccer. He could be the best at Spartak or Zenit.”
• “His eyes are ready to win. “He senses he’s in for a fight.”
• “I hope I’m explaining things properly. If not, I’m sorry.”
• “Come on, give me a slash. Give me a slash, give me a slash, give me a slash.
• “If Nadal loses, we can say he’s officially aged.”
• “Nadal’s nervous too. Look, his hair is already falling out.”

Anyway, Safin, as always, is in his repertoire. We decided to recall 5 more reasons why tennis fans still remember him with delight as a player.

Safin did not spare his racket

Marat was never shy about his emotions, and if he was angry, it was usually the rackets that got the brunt of it. Even eight minutes would not be enough to show all the times Safin took his anger out on equipment. And Marat could also swear heartily right on court. Those who like to read lips will surely be horrified if they watch the recordings of his emotional outbursts.

I could, for example, break a racket. Or tell everybody to…. Well, you know how people swear. You’ve heard the construction workers, right?

Always stands his ground

The dialog between Marat Safin and referee Pascal Maria during the match Safin – Roddick at the Australian Open 2007 has forever remained in the history of world tennis. After the third set it rained, so the match had to be suspended in order to extend the roof and tidy up the court. When all the problems were fixed, Marat refused to continue the match for some time, pointing out to Pascal that the court was not dry yet. The tennis player received a warning for this.

As soon as the first game was over, Safin started to clarify relations with the umpire again. With the score 1:1* (40:40) in the fourth set, Pascal made an incorrect decision after serving, thinking that the ball had gone into touch. After a video replay, the point had to be validated and Safin won the game on his next serve. During the break, he had another conversation with the referee about the unfairness of his decisions and his own powerlessness in front of the judges. That’s when Marat’s legendary phrase came out:

You sit here looking like you have a cigar in your mouth and two girls next to you. You don’t even care about tennis.

Without too much modesty

In 2004 at the Roland Garros tournament in Paris, Safin faced Felix Mantilla of Spain in the 1/32 final. Marat won 3-2, and the match was remembered for an unusual trick, with which our tennis player celebrated an accurate shot after a long and difficult draw. Safin played brilliantly at the net, pulling out the most difficult short ball, and then he dropped his shorts in joy.

Marat’s opponent clearly didn’t expect this turn of events.

I was surprised, yes. It’s a very important moment, and he took off his pants, and everyone saw his… I don’t know how to say it. Ass.

The referee gave Marat a warning, and since it was his second in the match (the first was for a broken racket), the referee penalized Safin one point.

After the end of his career, the tennis player himself recalled the episode as follows: “We have to entertain, we try to make it fun. I’m busting my ass on the court, the stadium was full. I think we did a great job. Four hours of great tennis. But because of this incident, the ATP people are treating me like this? Do you think that’s fair? Do you think it’s really fair? These people are doing everything they can to make tennis no longer entertaining. You can’t do this, you can’t do that, you can’t talk when you want to talk. You can’t do a lot of things. I don’t want to get into the details. It’s just ridiculous. It’s painful to watch. And it gets worse and worse every year.”

He remains a gentleman in every situation

Safin once took a bad serve from Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty at the 2009 Hopman Cup in Perth. The ball flew off his racket into touch and hit the assistant referee, an elderly woman sitting at the net. Marat immediately ran up to her and kissed her, which delighted the audience. That day he again showed everyone that he was probably the most “lively” and sensitive tennis player of his time.

Not afraid to talk about personal things

Not every athlete can admit that he does not like sport or that it has ceased to bring him pleasure. Most often in interviews with athletes we hear something like: “Sport is my life, and it comes first”. Safin bribed fans with his openness and boldness in judgment, and also liked to remind them that tennis is “just a game.”

“When I won my second Slam, a mountain fell off my shoulders. I thought I was going to be the guy who accidentally won one Slam and never accomplished anything else. I remember sitting in the locker room thinking, “God, thank you. Thank you. I did it.” Instead of enjoying tennis, I was in agony. And I don’t want others to suffer too, because it’s a game,” Safin said of winning the Australian Open in 2005.

I don’t like sports at all, I don’t like competition. For example, I don’t like playing soccer. Especially hockey. I hate basketball in general. I never watch sports on TV. It’s incredible that I play tennis.

Marat Safin is one of the brightest personalities not only in Russian but also in world tennis. His game is remembered and loved in different parts of the world, and the Federer-Safin semi-final at the Australian Open in 2005, which lasted 4 hours and 28 minutes and ended with our tennis player winning in five sets, is considered one of the best matches in the history of the tournament.