It was really impossible to break through in Russia. We couldn't buy any balls. We really didn't have any courts, no rackets, nothing. And no people to practice with.

In the following years Safin never fully recovered. He was later defeated in the early rounds of each of the seven tournaments he played between the Australian Open and the French Open. ".

1 ranking during his career. Open after defeating Pete Sampras and won the 2005 Australian Open defeating Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the final. They are the first brother-sister tandem in tennis history to both achieve No.