Marat Safin

Marat Safin is a Russian politician and retired professional tennis player. He achieved the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 1 singles ranking on 20 November 2000. Nobody taller than Safin has ever reached the No. 1 ranking. Safin is the older brother of former world No. 1 WTA player, Dinara Safina. They are the only brother-sister tandem in tennis history who have both achieved No. 1 rankings. On court, Safin was famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper. Safin began his professional tennis career in 1997, and held the No. 1 ranking for a total of 9 weeks between November 2000 and April 2001. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2000 US Open, defeating Pete Sampras, and won the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Safin helped lead Russia to Davis Cup victories in 2002 and 2006. Despite his dislike of grass courts, he became the first Russian man to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. At the time of his retirement in November 2009, he was ranked No. 61 in the world. Since retirement Safin has been an official for the Russian Tennis Federation and a member of the Russian Olympic Committee. In 2011, he became a member of the State Duma representing the United Russia party. In 2016, he became the first Russian tennis player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.