MANILA – Tennis stars from the past and present admitted that former World No. 1 Marat Safin of Russia will leave a gaping hole in the sport as he retired from professional tennis after losing in the 2nd round of the ATP BNP Paribas Masters in Paris Wednesday.

Safin, 29, lost to World No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6. After the match, the Parisian crowd gave him a standing ovation.

A send-off ceremony ensued where French Tennis Federation President Jean Gachassin presented Safin with the key to the Palais Omnisports in Bercy. Safin won the Paris Masters thrice in 2000, 2002 and 2004.

The two-time grand slam champion was also honored by del Potro, Gilles Simon, Arnaud Clement, Tommy Robredo and World No. 3 Novak Djokovic. Former netters Marc Rosset, Cedric Pioline and former French Open champion Albert Costa were also present.

A tribute video was also shown featuring World No. 1 Roger Federer, World No. 2 Rafael Nadal, Djokovic, World No. 4 Andy Murray, World No. 8 Fernando Verdasco, Richard Gasquet, Robredo and Radek Stepanek.

“A very wild personality on and off the court and that's why we love him,” Federer said of Safin in the extended version of the video posted on the ATP Paris Masters website.

“A little bit crazy,” remarked Verdasco, adding: “So big and so strong so you need to take care what you say about him.”  

Robredo said the 6’4’’ Russian was a “very passionate player,” while Murray said Safin was “inconsistent.”

Gasquet, meantime, stated that Safin was charismatic. Djokovic noted that the former World No. 1 was enthusiastic. Stepanek, for his part, said his colleague was “special.”

Revolutionized the game

“An incredible athlete with an amazing backhand,” continued Federer.

“I have many great memories of Marat,” he related. Federer and Safin won a doubles title in Switzerland in 2001.

They also played a classic match in the 2005 Australian Open semifinal which Safin won in 5 sets. He went on to win his second grand slam after beating Lleyton Hewitt in the final. He won his first grand slam title at age 20 when he beat Pete Sampras in straight sets in the 2000 US Open.

“When I think of him I think of an incredible player with incredible potential. And what a great player he really was for his height. He was really strongly built. He was able to move on the court you know and make it seem like he was a little guy but he still had the power of the big guys,” Federer went on.

“He was, I think, one that also revolutionized the game a little bit. So it’s sad in a way to see him go, but still he was able to do great things in our sport,” stated the World No. 1 from Switzerland.

Charismatic champion

Aside from having the skills and athleticism that make a champion, Safin also had the charisma that won the hearts of fans, charmed the media, and pleased his colleagues.

“He's a very interesting guy with a lot of charisma and he brings a lot of excitement both on the court and off the court so tennis will certainly miss him,” stated Djokovic.

“He’s a pretty intimidating to play against he’s a big, big guy. Very charismatic and he hit the ball huge. I was used to playing against juniors. And that was one of the first top guys I played against. He got the better of me on that occasion. But a great experience for me,” recounted Murray.

Gasquet said, “Tennis will miss him because he was a very good player and a very nice person I think people loved the way he was playing the way he is so he was a good guy for tennis.”

“He was such a champion. He was a player who had great charisma, who was able to bring the people to the courts. He had a big temper,” noted Stepanek.

“Everybody said when Marat was on, it was very tough to beat him. He would beat anybody in the world. Some time of his career, some part of it, he was doing that and he was No. 1 in the world and he was winning grand slam tournaments. He always came with something,” he added.

Saying goodbye

After sharing their memories of and opinions on Safin, the tennis stars bade farewell to the Russian tennis star.

“I only wish you the best and I still hope to see you some time. I’ll be in tennis. You know where to find me. So take it easy. Bye-bye,” said Federer.

Nadal, for his part, said: “Sure it was a pleasure to know you to and to keep into (sic) contact with you.”

His fellow Spaniard Verdasco added, “Goodbye, Marat. It was nice to meet you and nice to see you around all these years. And I wish you all the best in your life after the tennis. And hope to still have a relationship with you because you’re a great guy.”

“Thanks, Marat for all the great matches. I really enjoyed watching you play and I’m sure the whole of tennis is gonna miss you,” stated Murray.

Robredo, meantime, wished to see Safin in tournaments. Safin’s sister, former World No. 1 now No. 2 Dinara, is playing in the WTA Tour.

“Obviously, it not easy to say bye-bye. I think it’s better to say that hope to see you soon in the tournaments maybe not playing but just being there and supporting tennis. It’s a great sport and everyone has enjoyed it with you,” he said.

Stepanek, on the other hand, wants Safin to change his mind. He remarked, “Marat, the whole Tour is gonna miss you. Think about staying.”

Lastly, Djokovic revealed one of Safin’s post-tennis activities when he said, “We’ll ski this winter so I’ll see you there.”

Hard worker

Safin said he felt “pretty good” after the send-off ceremony during the post-match press conference.

“I didn’t expect it at all. It's really a nice thing, nice feeling. I hope ATP didn’t push them to do that,” he said, because he did not expect some of the players to show up during his sendoff. “Of course, it means a lot.”

He also made a statement regarding the connotation that he did not live up to his potential because he did not take his career seriously.

Although he only has 15 majors, he said they were all “very special.” Aside from his 2 grand slams, Safin also won 5 Masters titles. Moreover, he helped steer Russia to Davis Cup championship victories in 2002 and 2006.

“I work pretty hard actually. A lot of people thought I’m not really a hard worker. You can ask all my coaches how I dedicate myself to tennis. They will tell you it's completely opposite. I worked for it,” he commented.

Tough and cruel sport
 
Safin then disclosed what he considered the highlights of his career: the 1998 French Open where he qualified and ending up beating Andre Agassi and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten before losing to Pioline in 5 sets in the fourth round; his breakthrough in 2000 when he won 7 titles including the US Open; and, the 2005 Australian Open, his last championship victory.

His most recent success in a grand slam was a semifinal finish in Wimbledon in 2008. It was a surprise semifinal result for the Russian who is vocal about his hatred for the grass surface. He once commented, “Grass is for cows.”

Meanwhile, asked if he could choose a match result that he would want to change, he bargained if he could reply with two match results: His 2002 French Open semifinal loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets, and his 2002 Australian Open final defeat to Thomas Johansson in 4 sets.

He then dwelled on what he would miss the most and least about the sport. He said he would miss being on the court and competing. However, the competition also brings about what he dislikes about tennis.

“It's a tough sport. It’s very cruel… definitely the injuries, the pressure that you are going through continuously throughout all these years, defending the points, you need to improve the game, count the points, make it to the Masters,” he ranted.

Safin added: “Stress 24/7—this is what I hated about it, too much. No rest for the brain at all. [In] soccer, hockey basketball, no matter how you play… you get the money. Here [in tennis], it’s all up to this exact moment. If you’re doing well, you’re gonna make it. If you’re not doing well, suck it up and change the lifestyle.”

He said a player could be in the Top 10 then drop out of the Top 100, just like what happened to him when he suffered injuries during his 13-year career.

All freedom for himself

Despite his rants, he believes he is leaving a sport that has greatly improved over the past decade.

“The guys, they improved so much the game, they’re much faster, much stronger,” he said.

When someone served at 205 kph in the past, he noted that players regarded it as “something outside of this world.”

Now, he commented that tennis is on a “completely different level.”

“Everybody knows what to do on the court,” he remarked, adding that players these days have “much more weapons” than in the beginning of his career.

Safin then revealed how much he is looking forward to being free from all the stress of tennis. “Now, I have no time, no schedule, no practices, no nothing. I belong to myself. All freedom, all for me.” – by Ma. Rosanna Mina, abs-cbnNEWS.com