The Russians have won the US Open in men’s singles twice so far in the history of the tournament. In 2021, Daniil Medvedev defeated Novak Djokovic in three sets in the final, and 21 years before that, the legendary Pete Sampras was defeated in front of US President Marat Safin.

Even his own coach did not believe in his victory.

step to the trophy

At the turn of the century, Marat Safin showed brilliant results. In November 2000, the 20-year-old Russian managed to become the first racket of the world, and a little earlier the tennis player got to his first victory in the Grand Slam tournament. It must be admitted that it was not possible to perform consistently throughout the season: in Australia it was not possible to get beyond the first round, in France the athlete was able to reach the quarterfinals, but at Wimbledon he stumbled in the second round. It would seem that nothing guaranteed a triumphant result at the US Open.

However, by the end of August, Safin was in decent shape – on the eve of the start of the US Open, he managed to reach the final of the tournament in Indianapolis, and at the US Open-2000 itself, the Russian received a fairly high sixth seed. Only the Americans Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, the Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten, the Swede Magnus Norman and another representative of our country, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, were higher in the ranking. True, almost all of them alternately left the race long before the final: the exception was the favorite of the American public, Sampras.

And Marat, meanwhile, was walking towards the American along his net. Individual matches turned out to be relatively easy – in the fourth round, the Russian gave only five games to the Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero. It took a long time to mess with some opponents – the Frenchman Sebastian Grosjean admitted defeat in the third round only after 3 hours and 25 minutes of a five-set confrontation. However, all these dangerous opponents, including the strong German Nicholas Kiefer and the finalist of the previous draw of the tournament, Todd Martin from the USA, were left behind. The trophy was just one step away.

Marat Safin / Photo: © Al Bello / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

“The Future Behind Him”

The favorite of the finals of the US Open, of course, was the American Sampras, and not only because he was slightly higher in the ranking. For Pete, the finals of prestigious tournaments were not new for a long time: by that time, the 29-year-old athlete had won the Australian Open twice, won Wimbledon seven times, and won the trophy four times at the US Open. The public, including US President Bill Clinton, came to watch their favorite’s record-breaking 14th Grand Slam victory.

The history of sports has known many cases when the recognized favorite failed. But for some reason, many experts were sure that right now Marat had no chance of winning. Sampras did not believe in the success of his counterpart, and Marat himself later admitted that he “did not expect that he would play normally.” But it’s one thing when you yourself doubt your abilities, without admitting it out loud, and another thing when you hear from your own coach an unpleasant assessment of your chances.

– At that time, Alexander Volkov was my coach. As a man of the old generation, he was afraid of everything. Before the game, he told me: “Just don’t lose in three sets.” It hurt me a lot. I wasn’t about to give in. He sent him a foul language … He went out and did what he believed in, ”Safin recalled in an interview with RT.

Sampras started with a powerful pitch, hinting that all the predictions were not accidental. However, Marat was not discouraged – he also demonstrated that he had complete order with the serve, and during the draws he acted more confidently than his eminent rival. The result of the first set is 6:4 in favor of the Russian. It became clear that he would not lose in three games, but the audience still did not doubt the favorable outcome for Pete. They began to doubt when Safin took the second set even more confidently – 6:3. The American needed extra effort to win, but our tennis player left him no chance – 6:3 in the third set, and here he is, the long-awaited trophy, in the hands of a rising star.

Marat Safin / Photo: © Jon Buckle – EMPICS / Contributor / PA Images / Gettyimages.ru

– The future belongs to him. He reminds me ten years ago, when the game was not work, but a real pleasure. Tennis performed by Safin is a kind of hurricane. I’m not that old yet, but still I couldn’t keep up with him today. I will say this: I’m sure Safin will soon win both the Australian Open and Roland Garros,” Sampras said after the final.

In Australia, Marat eventually won, though not so soon – after five years. But in France, Safin, unfortunately, did not manage to get to the final. The Russian was the first racket of the world, won the Davis Cup twice, but still he failed to become the same legend on a planetary scale as the same Sampras.