Hall of Famers Guga Kuerten and Marat Safin faced off just seven times.
To put that into perspective: Roger Federer has faced Rafael Nadal 44 times, Novak Djokovic and Nadal have squared off 49 times and Pete Sampras played Andre Agassi 34 times.
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The Guga-Marat rivalry was brief, but brilliant.
Sixteen years ago, Kuerten trailed Safin by 75 points entering the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Lisbon.
In an inspired performance, Kuerten toppled Sampras and Agassi in succession to take the title and surpass Safin for the season-ending No. 1 ranking. The lanky Brazilian became the first South American man to finish a season No. 1 in the history of the ATP rankings.
An 18-year-old Safin upset reigning Roland Garros champion Kuerten in their first meeting at the 1998 Roland Garros.
Four of their seven meetings were decided in decisive-set tie breaks, including Kuerten's 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (3) triumph in the 2000 Hamburg final and a 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 decision in the 2000 Indianapolis final. All-court skills and Safin's sledgehammer two-handed backhand against Kuerten's wondrous one-hander made for lively rallies.
In the International Tennis Hall of Fame series "Legends Recognize Legends", Class of 2016 member Safin gives his thoughts on three-time Roland Garros champion Kuerten.
During his Hall of Fame induction in July, Safin revealed he and Kuerten and Mark Philippoussis sometimes went out clubbing together thanking Philippoussis for "always picking up the tab."
"Guga is a very special player," Safin says. "He's great for tennis, especially tennis in Latin America. A very charismastic person. I think he did a great job for the whole tennis world."
Photo credit: Roland Garros