By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, July 16, 2016
"We cried, we played, we broke the racquets, we insulted the referees, only sometimes, but this is all part of our life," said Marat Safin summing up his career before his International Tennis Hall of Fame induction.
Photo credit: Zimbio
Most iconic players inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame grow up dreaming of playing on the game's most prestigious stages for Grand Slam championships.
Marat Safin's first childhood dream was simple: Get his kicks.
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"I always wanted to be a soccer player. That was my goal," a spirited Safin said today at the Hall of Fame's press conference before his induction into the Newport-based Hall. "But we know that the mother knows best for the son, right? They said no, this (soccer) is over. "
Safin's second dream was even more modest: Quit tennis.
"Then my second dream was how do I quit tennis when I was young. I can say that now after my career," Safin said. "Once I started (seeing) I was winning tournaments even thought I was hating tennis, at some point I said, 'Well, I can be good at it.' When I was 12, tennis helped me get out of Russia. I played European tournaments and my perception changed. I said 'I'm not that that bad.' I said, 'If I hate tennis and I can play with them, if I start to like tennis then I have a chance.' "
Safin's rise from self-skepticism to one of the most volatile, charismatic and entertaining champions in recent history has not ended with tennis.
He is a member of Russian Federal Parliament and the first Russian player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame though Safin says his former teammate deserves that distinction.
Former world No. 1 players Justine Henin and Safin are the first players from their respective nations inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Amelie Mauresmo, a 2015 inductee who was prevented from attending the ceremony last year due to the birth of her son, was also honored today.
Even when the teenage Safin, who relocated from Moscow to Spain where he became fluent in both Spanish and the art of clay-court tennis, began to compete on the pro circuit he didn't dream big.
He didn't dare dream at all.
"I was realistic," Safin said. "I was so far away from the dream. It's better not to have dreams than to hurt yourself.
"When I first started playing (professionally), I was 15, 16 and the players were much bigger than me and 21 years old and I was losing 6-0, 6-0. After one year you ask yourself: Listen, maybe I'm not good at it. Maybe I should play chess."
Safin showed both a sharp sense of humor and poignant reverence for his induction into the historic Newport-based Hall.
The man who estimates he smashed more than 700 racquets in his career, a man who could sometimes get so crazy on court opponents joked he should be institutionalized is now a member of the ultimate institution.
Hall of Famer Stan Smith welcomed Safin to the Hall and the 36-year-old Russian spoke eloquently about what the Hall of Fame means to him and to tennis.
"The Hall of Fame is a huge family, all of us are brothers and sisters trying to do the right thing and make our game better," Safin said. "Coming here I was in shock. I was like a kid in Disneyland. You feel the power, the energy, you feel the power of the people who have been here before and I think it's a huge (honor).
"I want to thank everybody, brothers and sisters, in our tennis world. Thank you for the ride, for the ups and downs. We cried, we played, we broke the racquets, we insulted the referees, only sometimes, but this is all part of our life and part of the history."
Safin and sister Dinara Safina hold a record that may not be broken in our lifetimes: They are the only brother-sister tandem in history to attain the world No. 1 rankings. Safin held the top spot in 2000. He was the first Russian man to reach the Wimbledon semifinals in the Open era.
Tennis was part of Safin's family—his mother, Rauza Islanova, an outstanding coach introduced both children to tennis and served as their first coach
"I started at the age of two—two months," Safin quipped. "To understand that, you need to live with that. (Tennis) was a huge part of our life."
But the demands of the game also pulled brother and sister apart.
In their younger years, Marat and Dinara were both traveling so much they barely spent time together. Safin spoke honestly and lovingly about how his relationship with his younger sister has grown closer since they retired.
"We didn't know each other. At some point we didn't feel like brother and sister," Safin said. "And finally I get to know her. I definitely say she has great potential. It's too bad she couldn't make Grand Slam winner, but she's a greater person. She understands tennis more than me, 10 times more, and she's a better person, for sure."
The explosive Safin was just 20 years old when he shocked Pete Sampras in the 2000 US Open final shattering one of the game's biggest servers to win his first career Grand Slam title and leaving an impressed Sampras to remark Safin "reminds me of me."
The controlled volatility Safin showed that day, the eye of a shotmaking storm, likely would have been good enough to beat any champion in history.
A member of two Russian Davis Cup championship teams, Safin won his second Grand Slam singles title in 2005. In the Australian Open semifinals, he fought off match point edging world No. 1 Roger Federer in one of the most riveting Melbourne matches in recent years then rallied past home hope Lleyton Hewitt in the final.
The charismatic Russian became a folk hero in New York for how he handled his seismic US Open victory. Safin kissed the hard court, signed endless autographs then made a hilarious appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, telling the host he celebrated "with vodka" and was still riding the buzz.
Today, he revealed the fear factor helped finish that virtuoso US Open final performance.
"It was amazing. To play like this out of the blue makes you feel wow, it's me. I'm good enough," Safin said. "I was lucky enough to get scared before the match point. Because it could go either way around, you know that against Pete."
While the world celebrated his brilliance on a bright September afternoon in New York City, Safin stood on the sport's largest Grand Slam stage reflecting on his remarkable journey from satellite tour agony to Grand Slam ecstasy.
He shared his thoughts of one wild career ride today.
"I had one hour and a half of a blast tennis and that's it. Thank God it was over," Safin said of the US Open triumph. "All the hours in the gym, all the hours on the court, all the suffering, all the satellite tournaments in the south of Spain when you have like 120 degrees running around, no ball boys, no chair umpires, everybody hitting each other, everybody trying to fight each other.
"To go from that to here it's (amazing)."