The fourth-seeded Marat Safin, who felt he was destined to win the Australian Open after two runner-up finishes in the last three years, rallied to defeat No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in a the final last night.
It was the second Grand Slam title for the 25-year-old Russian, who is as mercurial as his record -- he won the US Open in 2000 and rose soon afterward to No. 1, then plunged as low as 86th after injuries in 2003. He started his comeback here last year by reaching the final, which he lost to Roger Federer.
PHOTO: AP
He ended top-ranked Roger Federer's 26-match winning streak on Thursday in the semifinals.
PHOTO: AP
Although he usually feeds off controversy -- angering three opponents with his on-court shouts and staredowns on his way to the final -- the aggressive Hewitt unraveled as he sought to become the first Australian to win this event since Mark Edmondson in 1976. The sellout crowd urged him on, but Hewitt couldn't feed off their energy this time.
Safin, who got a good luck cell phone text message from the only other Russian to win a men's Grand Slam title -- Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1999, also at Melbourne Park -- was the one who looked tight at the start. He won only three points while dropping the first three games and was broken on four backhand errors while serving for the first time.
Another three errors gave Hewitt triple break point at 4-1. Safin rallied to deuce, but Hewitt made it 5-1 on a topspin lob winner and a forehand crosscourt passing shot.
Hewitt seemed at the top of his game, zipping from sideline to sideline while committing only one unforced error in the 23-minute first set -- to 13 for Safin -- and yielding only two points in his four service games.
Hewitt finally started slipping while serving at 1-2 in the second set. At 15-40, Safin got hold of a serve and rammed a forehand down the line to cash in his first breakpoint opportunity.
Hewitt fended off one set point serving at 2-5, but Safin -- still looking nervous -- leveled the match on a forehand winner down the line off a weak service return from the Australian.
With fist pumps and shouts of "Come on! Come on!" Hewitt saved two break points in the first game of the third set as tensions rose and both men's nerves frayed even more.
Hewitt screamed "No way!" at Portuguese umpire Carlos Ramos in the next game after an overrule on a Safin shot that he thought was long but TV replays showed was on the line.
Safin had his own fist pump and shout of "Vamos!" -- Let's go -- after one winner, but Hewitt broke when he guessed right on a Safin volley and sent a backhand winner down the line. Safin sent a forehand long on the next point.
Safin, notorious for breaking rackets, spiked another one, but continued to play with it. He got his thighs massaged at the changeover after Hewitt held for a 3-0 lead, then complained to Ramos in Spanish about another close call in the next game.
Hewitt was called for a foot fault on his first serve at 4-2, 30-40. He won the point after a long rally, then was given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct for screaming and pointing his finger at the line judge responsible for the call. Safin got back on serve on his third break point on a backhand winner down the line. Safin complained again to Ramos at the changeover.
Hewitt seemed to unravel. He foot-faulted again at 15-30 in his next service game and double-faulted at 30-40 to hand Safin a 5-4 lead.
After wasting one set point on a backhand he dumped into the net, Safin finished it off when Hewitt hit a backhand crosscourt just wide.
This time it was Hewitt who sought a massage on the thigh muscles that have given him trouble all tournament.
Safin, suddenly looking confident, rallied from 40-15 deficit as Hewitt served in the first game of the fourth set, finishing off the break with an overhead winner and a backhand crosscourt pass to stretch his streak to seven straight games.
It was the only break Safin needed, as he yielded only three points in his five service games in the set. When Hewitt hit a lunging forehand out at match point, Safin pumped his fist one last time in celebration.
Australia will have a man and woman in the world's top 10 for the first time in 21 years -- Lleyton Hewitt and Alicia Molik -- when the next rankings are released.
Hewitt will rise from No. 3 to second in the rankings Monday after becoming the first Australian since John Newcombe in 1970 to progress to at least the quarterfinals of four consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.
Roger Federer, who lost to Marat Safin here in the semifinals, remains No. 1 while Andy Roddick drops one place to No. 3 and Safin is fourth.
Molik will climb from No. 12 to 10th after advancing to the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park.
STATISTICS
The 14-day Australian Open broke the 500,000 attendance mark for the sixth year in a row, up more than 20,000 on last year. It also saw the highest one-day attendance in history when 60,069 spectators came to Melbourne Park on Jan. 22.
Celebrity visitors included golfer Greg Norman, boxer Kostya Tszyu, former LA Lakerscoach Phil Jackson, singer Olivia Newton-John and actor Geoffrey Rush.
Hungry patrons ate 31,700 buckets of french fries, 13,700 hot dogs, 11,714 meat pies and drank 111,000 espresso coffees. The tournament's 88 courtesy cars drove 340,000km.
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