rebel who's found his cause
Barry Flatman
January 31, 2005
The Sunday Times

TAMING the maverick is always the most demanding of challenges.

Marat Safin now believes he has found the right man to help him legitimise the talent that distinguishes him as possibly the most naturally gifted yet wildest player to lift a tennis racquet in the past decade.

Last night, the Russian who proved that Roger Federer is beatable, walked out to play his third Australian Open final in four years. The two previous efforts realised just one set; last night he claimed the three he needed to beat Lleyton Hewitt and sitting courtside was the person he credits with turning his fortunes around, Swedish coach Peter Lundgren.

In the aftermath of his semi-final victory over Federer, Lundgren watched his new charge wandering off into the Melbourne night with licence to belatedly celebrate his 25th birthday by downing a few cold ones with a statuesque, high-booted blonde, and did not fear the consequences.

"Marat is not a child any more; he is now a man who hates to be told off and struggles to accept it," said Lundgren, 40, who once reached the men's doubles final in Melbourne. "The message I've told him is that he will only have four or five more years at this level and then it's finished. After that he can spend the rest of his life enjoying himself. I think he now understands.

"It took a while to understand one another, but we made the breakthrough when he won the title in Beijing last September. For the past few months he has worked exactly the way I have wanted him to and the results have been good."

Masters titles in Madrid and Paris and now the Australian Open attest to Lundgren's theories and suggest Safin may have conquered his greatest conflict, which has ruined many a chance since he jolted the tennis world by winning the 2000 US Open.

"If he had the whole package," Hewitt said before last night's match, "he'd be winning week-in and week-out. It's always the mental side that let him down."

Four years ago at this tournament Safin was fined for simply not trying. Last June at the French Open he was scolded for demonstrating his displeasure by dropping his shorts on court, and such is his skill at smashing racquets that Goran Ivanisevic allowed him to inherit his mantle.

The ability to rebel was grasped with regularity. As a 14-year-old it resulted in him being sent to Spain to finish his tennis education in an environment where he would not argue so much. It only partly solved the problem, but now Lundgren has finally convinced Safin he has no obligations other than those to himself.

The message appears to be registering, although dedication is still not Safin's strong suit. He can be spotted regularly in hotel bars late at night, cigarette in hand, drink close by, attractive female company even closer. A succession of coaches (eight in the past five years) have tried, and all before Lundgren failed.

Davis Cup team-mate Mikhail Youzhny, ranked 15th in the world, observes: "If Marat was focused like Hewitt or Pete Sampras or Federer, he could be No.1 for many years. He is not, and that's not his problem. It's his choice. He thinks he doesn't need to focus on tennis because he is so talented. If I did like he does – the nightclubs, the smoking, everything – I would not be in the top 100."

There is nothing vaguely authoritarian about Lundgren. With a ponytail and the ample girth to suggest he enjoys the odd beer himself, he is the first man to strike an understanding with the player reckoned to have the playing credentials to establish a rivalry with Federer, who was coached by Lundgren until 14 months ago.

Perhaps that is why Lundgren's relationship with Federer came to such an unexpected end. But this approach works with Safin, who has never been exactly forthright in giving his coaches credit. He has become far more practised at firing them after things have not gone right. Or to be more precise, when they have questioned his commitment to his sport and criticised his off-court habits.

An interesting summary was given by Russia's ambassador to Australia, Leonid Moiseev. "Not only is Marat a beautiful tennis player on court," he says, "we also love him because he is a very naughty boy away from the courts. He loves fast cars and beautiful women, and that is good."

A long-overdue second Grand Slam title underlines the rebel as the ultimate hero.