Sage Safin reflects on career

Marat Safin is a long way removed from his playing career.

The Russian, who peaked at world No.1 16 years ago and stepped away from the sport at the end of 2009, has pulled on his tennis gear again for the Japan Warriors in the latest season of IPTL.

Safin still dabbles in tennis these days, contesting exhibitions such as the IPTL and also playing on the ATP Champions Tour.

But he has also built a political career, representing the United Russia party in the nation’s State Duma.

It is perhaps this distance between his current life and his playing career – both in years and direction – that has allowed him to reflect more philosophically on his time at the top of the game.

“I went a little too extreme, but it was me,” Safin said of his emotional on-court demeanour in an interview with Singapore’s The Straits Times.

“There was no anger and it wasn’t against anybody. For me, it was self-expression.

“I just couldn’t hold certain things inside me because I was boiling. I pushed the limits a little too far. Looking back, some moments I don’t really like or enjoy what I was doing.

“But I really appreciated people who didn’t judge me for certain things. They took it in a nice way even though I pushed the limits a little too far.”

Safin, who won his first major title at the 2000 US Open before winning his second at Australian Open 2005, said he regretted not enjoying more the experience of winning another Grand Slam singles title when he went all the way at Melbourne Park.

“It was more of a relief … I thought I would be this guy who got a Grand Slam by mistake and never achieved anything else,” he admitted.

“I sat down in the locker room and was saying, ‘Thank you, God, thank you, God, I made it.’ Instead of enjoying it, I was suffering. That’s why I don’t want kids to suffer because it’s a game.

“Accept things that you do wrong. Sometimes, the truth can hurt, but when you learn about it, you grow up and you become more mature.

“Life is about learning. You learn every day, until the last day.”