“In a performance so casual it was chilling, Safin announced himself as the game's next big thing by dismantling the best player ever.” 

Those were the words of S.L. Price in Sports Illustrated after 20-year-old Marat Safin beat Pete Sampras to win the US Open in 2000, a story we tell on this edition of Tennis Re-Lived. 

Why did Chris Clarey think Safin would be a future World No.1 from the moment he saw him? What did Yevgeny Kafelnikov think of Safin when they first met at the Davis Cup? Why was Safin the ideal guy to be front and centre of the ATP’s ‘New Balls Please’ campaign? And how did a coaching change in April 2000 help Safin to rediscover his best form after a glut of bad results at the start of the year? 

Turning to New York, how much of a contender was Safin going into the tournament? In what way did he struggle in the opening rounds? And why did he need to borrow some socks from Jeff Tarango? 

We hear from Mary Carillo in the commentary box about what made Safin’s performance in the final so special and Paul Annacone in the coaching box about the moment he knew Sampras had a problem. 

Afterwards, we reflect on what happened next in Safin’s career, with Marat himself explaining the pressure he felt to win a second Grand Slam title, which eventually came in Australia in 2005, and the injuries which ended his career. 

Should Safin be considered an underachiever? And in what way did he leave his mark on the sport beyond his results? 

The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.

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