Marat Safin News

LONDON (AP) _ Marat Safin saved Russia, and sent the defending champions into the Davis Cup semifinals. The former top-ranked Russian played for the first time in the best-of-five series on Sunday and beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 in the deciding match to give the hosts a 3-2 win over France. ``It was a pure accident,'' said Safin, who is 29-18 in the Davis Cup. ``I have not ...

Admitting he was downright scared, Marat Safin composed himself and won the Davis Cup title for Russia. The two-time Grand Slam champion had 16 aces in beating Jose Acasuso 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) on Sunday in the fifth and deciding match, giving Russia a 3-2 decision over Argentina for its second Davis Cup crown. ``There were some very difficult moments today,'' Safin said. ``It was tough to control the match. Everything worked out.'' Safin lost his opening ...

This time he liked the court. Russia's Marat Safin found his footing Saturday on a surface that had him seething less than 24 hours earlier. He paired with Dmitry Tursunov to beat Argentina's David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in the Davis Cup final. Russia leads 2-1 and is one match away from its second Davis Cup title. The comfortable win came a day after Nalbandian levelled the five-match final by beating Safin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, ...

Nikolay Davydenko and Marat Safin will lead Russia against David Nalbandian and Argentina in the Davis Cup final. In the International Tennis Federation announced both lineups Tuesday for the Dec. 1-3 final, which will be played on carpet at the Olympic Indoor Stadium in Moscow. Davydenko and Safin will be joined by Mikhail Youzhny and Dmitry Tursunov. Jose Acasuso, Agustin Calleri and Juan Ignacio Chela are also on Argentina's team. ...

Roger Federer of Switzerland rallied in two tiebreakers to beat Robin Soderling of Sweden 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) and advance to the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters on Thursday. Neither player dropped serve in the match, sealed when the top-ranked Federer correctly challenged that the final two points were hit out by Soderling. Each player receives two challenges a set in this tournament. If he is correct with a challenge, ...

Marat Safin needed less than an hour to oust Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-4 Wednesday in the first round of the Open de Moselle. Safin, who told French sports daily L'Equipe he will retire in 2010, gave Youzhny no break points. The pair led Russia into the Davis Cup final with a 3-2 win over the United States last month. Safin will meet Jurgen Melzer in the quarter-finals. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo ...

Marat Safin says he plans to retire from tennis in 2010. ``2010 will be my last season,'' the two-time Grand Slam champion said in an interview published Wednesday by sports daily L'Equipe. ``I will be 30 years old and it will be time to move onto something completely different.'' Safin has dropped to 63rd in the rankings after a serious knee injury, and split with coach Peter Lundgren before the ...

Marat Safin defeated Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (5) to give Russia a 1-0 lead over the United States after the opening singles of the Davis Cup semifinal on Friday. Russia's Mikhail Youzhny was scheduled to play James Blake in the day's second singles match on the Olympic indoor stadium's clay court. Roddick and Safin had played five times before _ all on hard courts _ with the American winning ...

Marat Safin built a big lead against fourth-seeded David Nalbandian, let it all slip away, then held on to win in a fifth-set tiebreaker. A U.S. Open champion at age 20 back in 2000, Safin now is unseeded _ undaunted. ``Every time you come back, once you win it, you want to get closer to the final,'' he said after his 6-3, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 7-6 (6) win in the ...

Marat Safin, the 2001 U.S. Open winner, also advanced in early action a day after there was pretty much a total washout at the year's last Grand Slam tournament. Light rain and mist through most of Tuesday made it the first day at the U.S. Open with zero matches completed since Day 1 in 1987. Nadal began in the best way possible, winning the first eight points against Philippoussis, a ...