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Biofile: Marat Safin Interview 1999
9 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
BORN: Jan. 27, 1980, in Moscow, Russia.
CHILDHOOD HEROES: “Sampras, Kafelnikov and Medvedev…good players and nice people. It’s important to be a nice person…not to be a great player who thinks he’s like unbelievably great. I like a nice person.”
PREMATCH FEELING: “I like to talk with people. Makes me loose. Not close my eyes and think about match. I prefer to spend that time with people…other players, my coach. Not to be very concentrated. You’re already nervous before the match.”
FAVORITE MOVIES: “The Godfather, Ronin, Torrente, Dumb & Dumber.”
MUSICAL TASTES: “Metallica, Halloween, Enigma, Dream – the most hard, dance music [smiles]. Scooter, Mike Olfield.”
EARLY TENNIS MEMORY: “My first tournament I played in Moscow, I was 7. And I make two rounds. So my first tournament I won two matches. Small tournament but very important for me.”
GREATEST SPORTS MOMENT: “I have the greatest memories from Roland Garros (’98). Beat two players from the top of tennis (Agassi and Kuerten, both in five sets). And in the beginning of the year I had no money to pay for the travel. Agassi – I’d lost to him one match before in Davis Cup. So that was very important because I wanted to win. To beat Agassi is very nice always. Whether he plays good or bad, just to beat Agassi any time is very nice.”
TOUGHEST OPPONENTS: “Thomas Johansson. Difficult for me to play him. He plays fast, serves well, tough to return. Always play difficult matches with him. Players who serve and volley…Sampras, Rafter, Rusedski, Henman even Woodforde before he retired. Hard for me to play against them when they serve very well and make the volley all the time. Everybody is hard but they’re the most hard.”
FIRST CAR: “’90 red VW Golf.”
FAVORITE BREAKFAST CEREAL: “I prefer an omelette and pancakes.”
FAVORITE ATHLETES TO WATCH: “Soccer clubs – Valencia of Spanish league, Inter Milan of Italian league, Spartak Moscow from my country. Ronaldo. Shaq. Mike Tyson – nice. Anna Kournikova. Jana Kandarr, the German – she is more like a model. Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders. I like hockey – but it’s too dangerous. Baseball – I don’t understand [laughs].”
PEOPLE MOST ADMIRED: “I don’t like the people who think they’re very important. I like people who are very friendly and just nice people. Not somebody who thinks they are the best of the best, just a nice person.”
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Moskova Moskova · July 31, 2015 at 2:20 pm
great read and what a great player he was !
retired to politics rather than coaching or commentating.
Harold · July 31, 2015 at 4:21 pm
Saw Safin practicing with V Voltchkov at the Brooklyn Racquet Club, when Safin was around 15.We all thought Voltchkov had a big game, Safin was hitting the ball way bigger..Next time I think I saw him was when he played Courier in DC.Think he went up two sets, and lost the match.
Safin was a show!
Scoop Malinowski · July 31, 2015 at 6:39 pm
Moskova, would like to see Safin coach a top player like Dimitrov or Rublev. But you get the sense he’s had enough of the tennis scene. Hard to even imagine Safin showing up to Newport when he’s inducted.
Scoop Malinowski · July 31, 2015 at 6:41 pm
Pics or it didn’t happen Harold ) I remember that Davis Cup match vs Courier and I think he also played Mal Washington. Or maybe that was Kuerten in DC. Safin at his best was a thrill to watch. But he only showed it infrequently like Stanimal.
Harold · July 31, 2015 at 8:04 pm
If you write Facing Safin, you’ll have to trackdown former Wimby semi finalist Voltchkov
Thomas Tung · August 3, 2015 at 1:08 am
Dunno if the North American market would ever be interested, but I would LOVE a “Facing Safin” book from you, Scoop. Marat was quite the character in his pro days …
Moskova Moskova · August 3, 2015 at 9:12 am
would be cool to see safin coaching gulbis or some under-achiever but prlly wont see that any time soon..
i heard safin hit the heaviest, hardest, flattest ball from both wings on the tour.
obviously nadal has the spinniest FH on tour..
Dyson · August 11, 2015 at 5:38 pm
Safin won two Grand Slam tournaments and reached the world no. 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court.
Scoop Malinowski · August 11, 2015 at 9:40 pm
Dyson, when I think of Safin I think of him just crushing prime Sampras and Federer, what a remarkable player. A Russian journo in Wash DC told me Safin isn’t up to much these days in Russia, some very minor political job and he’s a bachelor, not involved in tennis except for funding Donskoy out of his own pocket. Dinara is training and coaching fifteen and sixteen year old Russian girls. Kafelnikov has a pilot license and wants to play golf in the Olympics.