How Marat Safin pulled off miracle 2005 Australian Open final win over Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt was charging towards the 2005 Australian Open title when one moment changed history. For the first time, it can be revealed how Marat Safin turned the game.
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A natural born fighter, Lleyton Hewitt never knew just how close he came to knocking out Marat Safin in their epic final at the 2005 Australian Open.
After running away with the first set 6-1, Hewitt had his Russian rival on the ropes but was so engrossed in the battle at hand that he was oblivious to how badly his opponent was suffering.
While the history books show that Safin staged a miraculous comeback to beat Hewitt 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 and claim his first Australian Open title after losing the 2002 and 2004 finals, the records don’t show how close he was to chucking in the towel.
Only a handful of people knew at the time but they kept it secret, until now, the 20th anniversary of the greatest Australian Open ever played.
One of them was Ivan Gutierrez, the Australian Open’s head trainer, who found himself in an unusual predicament.
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He treated Safin throughout the tournament but was also Hewitt’s personal trainer so was looking out for the Australian. When his two high-profile patients met in the final, he was obliged not to divulge any information to either player about their opponent.
But he did tell the tournament director Paul McNamee, watching from courtside, when he inquired how each man was faring after they both called on Gutierrez for assistance.
“During the first set Lleyton called for the trainer and so I said to Ivan: ‘is there anything wrong with Lleyton’. And he said: ‘no, he just wanted a bit of tape adjusted’ because Lleyton was winning the match and playing really well,” McNamee told this masthead.
“So in the second set, Marat calls for Ivan but he’s down a set and just hanging on and being outplayed by Lleyton, so I said to Ivan when he came back, ‘was there anything wrong with Marat?’
“And he said: ‘he’s depressed. He’s getting killed and he knows he’s going to lose and he just wants someone to talk to, just to share how bad he’s feeling because he’s really depressed.‘”
The impromptu pep talk worked wonders for the temperamental Safin. He came straight back out on the Rod Laver Arena, immediately broke Hewitt’s serve and went on to win the match, coming from a break down in the third.
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Unaware of what Safin was going through, Hewitt’s camp have always been generous in crediting the Russian for turning the match around, saying they could not have done any more regardless.
“We were totally gutted and we still are but you also have to celebrate otherwise you will never enjoy your sport as well,” Hewitt’s coach Roger Rasheed told this masthead.
“He (Hewitt) gave himself a great chance. Won the first set. He was playing a big-time player, Marat Safin, who got himself into a rhythm. Once he won the second set he was very hard to unsettle. We tried everything but once Safin gets hold of you - he can get hold of most players in the world - he’s such a beautiful ball striker and was able to get the job done.”
Despite being told by the trainer that Safin had given up hope of winning, McNamee wasn’t convinced because he knew from personal experience that the Russian was no quitter.
Not many players could go toe to toe with Hewitt at his home grand slam but McNamee had witnessed how tough Safin really was while he was running the Hopman Cup the year before, and the tournament doctor called McNamee during the New Year’s Eve ball and said he urgently needed to see Safin in his hotel room.
“Marat arrived in Perth and his face was black and blue, he had black eyes and he was a mess,” McNamee said.
“I said to Marat ‘what’s the matter?’ and he said ‘I was in a fight in Moscow before I left. And I got beat up pretty bad.’”
A month later, Safin beat Andre Agassi in five sets to reach the Australian Open final for the second time, before running out of gas and losing to Roger Federer.
In 2005, he returned to Perth for the Hopman Cup, but without any bruises on his face.
“He never won a match in Perth that year but I remember he lost to Davide Sanguintti, an Italian guy, who got on the microphone and started going ‘oh I’m playing so well, ‘I just beat Marat Safin, it’s unbelievable’.
“So Marat took the microphone off him, on court, and said ‘Oh man, give me a break. I gave you a gift. Just shut up, okay?’”
McNamee knew Safin was preparing for a bigger fight, and that toughness carried him all the way to the Australian Open title.
His first round opponent was a teenage Serbian making his debut at Melbourne Park - Novak Djokovic. Safin beat him in straight sets.
In the semis, Safin saved a match point before avenging his 2004 loss to Federer in a five-set classic.
Bidding to become the first home grown winner of the Australian Open since Mark Edmondson in 1976, Hewitt was also up pugilist with a racket in his hand. Like Safin, he never took a backward step as he scratched and clawed his way to the final, which was the most watched event on Australian television - not just sport - until the Matildas World Cup semi in 2023.
Already a US Open and Wimbledon champion, Hewitt was a ferocious competitor known for getting under the skin of his opponents and his third round match against Juan Ignacio Chela turned nasty when the hot-headed Argentine spat at the Australian during a change of ends.
“That was a pretty big moment there which ignited another fire,” Rasheed said.
“He (Hewitt) took on Rafa (Nadal) following that, which is a big-time game against a young Rafa who still had that great competitive nature about him. We knew he was going to be a super player and a champion even as an 18 year old.
“Then went on to play a nailbiter in just over four hours against (David) Nalbandian - 10-8 in the fifth which is an extraordinary game as well. There was so much high quality tennis and I think the Australian public just rode it all the way.”
Hewitt’s quarter-final against Nalbandian, another Argentinian, almost became physical when they barged into each other at the net but it was all part of the masterplan for the Australian, who thrived on the confrontations that whipped the crowds into a frenzy.
“Regardless of the time you spend prior, it’s more about what happens in the moment, the adrenaline of the moment and whether or not you’re up for it - and Lleyton was always up for it,” Rasheed said.
“It was a pretty special time. Every match had a great story to it. We were just enjoying that journey.”
Originally published as How Marat Safin pulled off miracle 2005 Australian Open final win over Lleyton Hewitt
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