Biofile Marat Safin Interview

By Scoop Malinowski

DOB: Jan. 27, 1980, in Moscow, Russia.
STATUS: Former ATP World No. 1. 2000 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open champion. Winner of 15 ATP singles titles. First Russian player to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2016.
CHILDHOOD HEROES: “Sampras, Kafelnikov and Medvedev, Goran Ivanisevic…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: “Winning the U.S. Open, a huge tournament (in three sets over Sampras). Also, 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.”

FUNNIEST PLAYERS ENCOUNTERED:  All Argentines are very fast with their mouth, very high IQ, very fast brains… Gaudio, Zabaleta. Actually everybody has a good sense of humor. Everybody was trolling everybody in the locker room [smiles].

FUNNY TENNIS MEMORY:  I was on plane. Guy was sitting next to me, reading Russian newspaper, yellow press. We were flying to Germany. And the article talk about me, says I’m gay and flying to Germany  to get normal again. He close the paper and looks at me. I say no, no, it’s not true [smiles].

BEST YOU EVER FELT ON COURT:  The best match I ever played was the US Open final against Pete Sampras. It looked like Pete was playing very slow in my eyes. Slow motion. I could see everything he was doing. I could read his game, everything was so slow. It was a gift from above.
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. Messi. 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.”

Safin shocked the world in 2000

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