Marat Safin

Marat Safin is a retired professional tennis player from Russia. He was once ranked number 1 in the world. In 2000 and 2005, Safin won the US Open and the Australian Open, respectively. In 2002 and 2004, Safin played in the last round of the Australian Open, but lost. In 2008, Safin became the first Russian man to play in the semifinals in the Wimbledon Championships.
Born to a Tatar family, he learned tennis in Spain when he was a teenager.