Safin topples Hewitt in four sets in Australian Open men’s final

MELBOURNE, Australia – Seeing somebody else unravel was different for Marat Safin. So was winning the Australian Open.

After losing two of the last three finals at Melbourne Park, Safin defeated Lleyton Hewitt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 Sunday, deflating a crowd hungering for an Australian winner. This was the Russian’s second Grand Slam tournament title, his other coming at the 2000 U.S. Open against Pete Sampras in the final.

“It’s psychological – you start to have doubts, like really I could do this or not,” said Safin, a player known for his racket-busting outbursts. “It’s the third time, you get so nervous, so uptight.

“I don’t want to lose it,” he added. “Nobody cares about the (losing) finalist – so it was just a kind of a relief. “

Safin, who defeated top-ranked Roger Federer in the semifinals, was called the worthiest of champions by Hewitt.

“You knocked off the guy who’s nearly been impossible,” Hewitt told Safin. “You thoroughly deserve it.”

After the third-seeded Hewitt shanked a forehand on match point, Safin was surprisingly subdued, making only one fist pump. Hewitt told him, “Mate, too good.”

Hewitt was hoping to be the first Australian man to win the national championship since Mark Edmondson in 1976. And he seemed in command and on his way in the first set, making only one unforced error. He led 3-0 in the third set, and Safin was on the edge, smashing his racket into the court three times in eight points.

But that seemed to clear his head while Hewitt lost his. The Aussie became enraged at a line judge who called him for a foot fault on a break point in the seventh game of the third set. Hewitt saved the break point and then screamed at the line judge, pointing his finger twice at his face. That earned Hewitt a code violation from the umpire.

“I’m human and I’m disappointed – to come that close, train so hard to put yourself in a position – it’s hard to take at the moment,” said Hewitt, who will replace Andy Roddick at No. 2 in the rankings. “Making a U.S. Open final, a Masters Cup final and now an Australian Open final, I’m obviously doing something right. But it would have been nice to get one of them.”

Safin rose to No. 1 after winning the U.S. Open, then plunged to 86th after injuries in 2003. His comeback started last year in Australia, where he played some marathon five-setters before losing to Federer in the final. He finished No. 4 last year and has credited his resurgence to new coach Peter Lundgren, who coached Federer until the end of 2003.

“I never believed in myself before at all, until I start to work with him,” Safin said.

He said the Australian Open title was more important to him because it proved he could win again. In 2000, he didn’t expect to win.

“It was against Sampras. Nobody really cared,” he said. “Even though if I would make it, lose three sets, they would say, ‘Great tournament, well done. You were great, you played great tennis, but he’s Pete Sampras.’ So basically no pressure whatsoever.”

“But now, I am 25. I’m playing against Hewitt,” he added. “You go there and you lose first set 6-1, then, you know, like you start to think, ‘I’m playing ridiculous.’ You start to try and find a way out, and I found it.”

The fourth-seeded Safin completed a Grand Slam, of sorts, for Russia. Russian women won the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open last year. Safin made it four in a row for his country.

Serena Williams ended Russia’s domination of the women’s majors a day earlier, winning her first Grand Slam final in 18 months and her seventh overall with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over top-ranked Lindsay Davenport.

The looming obstacle at this tournament was Federer, who won 11 titles in 2004, including three Grand Slams. But Safin removed that immense roadblock in the semifinals, saving a match point in the fourth set before ending Federer’s 26-match winning streak. He played it cool that night, his 25th birthday. And he held it together – just – in the final before Hewitt lost his temper.

“He’s an awesome player,” Hewitt said. “Even when I was a set up, at no stage did I start thinking this is just going to carry along.”

Australians Scott Draper and Samantha Stosur, a wild-card pair playing together for the first time, won the mixed doubles, defeating Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of South Africa 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (6).

Hingis ready to return

Martina Hingis is set to make her first appearance in a WTA Tour event in more than two years.

The five-time Grand Slam champion, sidelined by severe ankle injuries since a 2002 tournament in Germany, is scheduled to play Germany’s Marlene Weingartner on Tuesday in the first round of the Volvo Women’s Open in Pattaya, Thailand.

“As a competitor and athlete, I always want to win. But I hope my body will hold up and help me to come through,” Hingis said. “You miss being out there in a Grand Slam final and not be able to compete. It’s a big difference between staying on court and commenting for TV. I miss it a lot.”

Hewitt gets engaged

Lleyton Hewitt proposed to his girlfriend, actress Rebecca Cartwright, following his defeat in the Australian Open final.

Both Hewitt and Cartwright, who appears on the Australian soap opera “Home and Away,” recently ended long-term relationships.