Paris, France (My Sportsbook) - Charismatic Russian Marat Safin played his final ATP tennis match on Wednesday, as he suffered a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 loss at the hands of world No. 5 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in Paris. The 29-year-old Safin announced before this season started that 2009 would be his final campaign on tour. The former world No. 1 star tallied a pair of major championships, at the 2000 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open, and was a runner-up at two other Grand Slam events, the 2002 and 2004 Aussie Opens. The '05 Aussie Open marked his last title on any kind on the circuit. His first career title came in Boston back in 1999. The ultra-talented but oft-injured and erratic Muscovite wound up with 15 career singles titles, including three right here in Paris, but never quite lived up to his lofty expectations. He finished inside the year-end Top 5 on three occasions (2000, 2002, 2004). Safin's younger sister, Dinara Safina, is a former No. 1 and is currently ranked second on the WTA Tour and was the runner-up at the French and Aussie Opens this year. |
