Marat Safin

It's indeed rare to witness an encounter where the legendary Pete Sampras looked like an ordinary player. However, the same did happen back in the 2000 US Open final, with the great tennis star pushed to the brim and forced to battle it out for every single point. Sampras did not face a fellow legend of the game, but the impact was similar to that delivered by a tennis superstar. His opponent on the day was Russian tennis ace Marat Safin, who did not seem nervous about the fact that he was taking on a player who had won eight consecutive slam finals previously. Safin did not lose serve and handled the tension of the moment in an astounding manner to pull off a 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 triumph in a 98-minute blitz. Sampras was left stunned at the impact left by a player, who had been described as a hurricane by experts. Safin was placed 35th in the FedEx ATP Rankings in April 2000, before going on to reach the 1st position on 20 November 2000, making him the second-youngest player to achieve the glorious feat. The tennis star's triumph in the 2000 US Open further made him the first and only Russian to win the prestigious tournament.

Safin was supremely unstoppable on his day, as evident from the 15 singles titles and five ATP Masters 1000 tournament titles which he recorded over the years. One of the most interesting highlights of his journey was the triumph in the 2005 Australian Open. Safin won his second major title on the back of breathtaking gameplay, which started with a triumph over No. 3 seed Lleyton Hewitt by a 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 margin. This was followed by the Russian getting the better of then world No. 1 Roger Federer in an intense semi-final contest which concluded with a 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6, 9-7 scoreline. Safin maintained his composure over the course of the four-hour, 28-minute semi-final, before going on to rally past Lleyton Hewitt for a sensational title triumph.

The Russian was a ruthless competitor to the core and demanded absolutely the highest standards possible from himself. Safin was not content with being one among the many contenders, as evident from his statement after opting to retire from the game.

"Either you are in the top five or nowhere. I didn't want to play 11th, 12th, 20th racket. Either everything or nothing. Poking around with children on some kind of courts, getting tired and running around with a sore knee is only discrediting oneself. As one literate person said: "It is better to leave the sport than the sport will leave you." If you can't beat Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, then what to do there," said the Russian in an interaction with Match TV.

One of the biggest factors that made Safin a powerful opponent was his immense strength and accuracy with regard to serves as well as executing forehands and backhands. The Russian was described by Boris Becker in 1999 as a player whose strength in hitting the ball from both wings had not been witnessed for a long time. Safin's volleys were very difficult to negotiate, making him a lethal prospect.

Grand Slam singles record:

Australian Open: W (2005)

French Open: SF (2002)

Wimbledon: SF (2008)

US Open: W (2000)