Marat Safin brought Roger Federer's grand slam streak to a
shuddering halt, beating the
seemingly invincible world number one 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6, 9-7 in a
heart-stopping semi-final at the Australian Open on Thursday.
Safin, runner-up in two of the last three Australian Opens including
last year when Federer beat him, twice came back from a set down and saved
a match point in the fourth set tiebreak before triumphing in one of
Melbourne Park's greatest battles.
"It was one of the toughest matches I ever had in my life," Safin said.
"Normally he toys with all the other players ... but for some reason I
found the power to fight, to wait for my opportunities and eventually they
came."
Safin, whose only grand slam title was at the US Open in 2000, will now
play the winner of Friday's second semi-final between Andy Roddick and
Lleyton Hewitt in Sunday's final.
Federer had not lost a match since last year's Athens Olympics in
August and was chasing his fourth grand slam title in 12 months after
winning last year's Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open crowns.
The Swiss master had also won his last 24 matches against players
ranked in the top 10 and was the hottest favorite in a century to win the
Australian Open after romping
through his first five matches without dropping a set.
Everything seemed to be going according to script when he won the
opening set but the first hint of a boilover came when Safin won the second.
Federer appeared to have regained control when he won the third
and held match point in the fourth but the Russian produced a perfect lob
to stay alive.
Federer saved six match points in the final set but his resistance
finally snapped after four 1/2 hours as Safin celebrated his 25th birthday
with a victory that brought the capacity crowd to their feet.
"I live my whole life with pressure, so this is nothing different,"
Federer said. "It's always going to hurt, no matter how great the match
was but at least you can leave the place feeling good about yourself
because I thought I gave it all I had."
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-28 11:14
