Safin falters at final hurdle

Marat Safin’s wholehearted battle to become the first unseeded Australian Open champion since 1976 finally ended today as the ebullient Russian admitted: “I just ran out of gas”.

Safin had spent six rounds, 27 sets, 18 hours and 49 minutes on court winning through to an unlikely third Grand Slam final appearance.

On the way he dug out sapping victories over top seed Andy Roddick and defending champion Andre Agassi and now holds the record for the most games conceded in a Grand Slam, with 148.

The 24-year-old had enjoyed an extra day off, after beating Agassi on Thursday - but against a player of Federer’s brilliance in today’s final, Safin needed every ounce of strength.

“I am really sorry; I just ran out of gas today,” said the 2000 US Open champion and 2002 Australian Open runner-up.

“I was a little bit too tired to keep up with him with the same rhythm. I had to be there from the beginning to the end.

“I felt that I was missing just a little bit. I didn’t need much, but a little bit more, something more, some extra energy to stay there.

“Basically it went like this: I had a chance in the first set, and if I had won the first set it would be a little bit of a different story.

“After I lost it, it was a little bit difficult because he became confident and it was difficult to keep up with him.

“It’s not like I played against a yo-yo, a guy who doesn’t know how to play tennis. You know what I mean?

“Let’s give him some credit. He is a big player. He’s number one in the world.”

That Safin was in the final at all was remarkable, given he had spent last year plagued by injury. He played only six matches from May onwards, losing them all, as he battled a debilitating wrist injury.

But after taking time out and having time to away from the game to contemplate his career, Safin arrived back on tour determined to regain his rightful place in the top 10.

That saw him past the likes of James Blake, Roddick and Agassi. But heart will only take a man so far. His legs could not complete the journey.

It meant the turbo first serve was misfiring – and with his second too predictable, Federer was rarely troubled from the start of the second set.

The personal record of 31 aces he slammed down against Agassi were reduced to just three.

“With the serve, the legs are most of it because you need to bend your knees. I couldn’t. My legs were just too tired to do all this job,” he said.

“Without the serve, it is difficult. Against Roger, you have to do better than that.”

Safin, though, was not at all down-hearted by the defeat.

“It’s still great. I would never think that I would be in the finals this week after what happened before,” he said.

“I’m happy. It’s great for me; a great two weeks when I beat great players. I will have other chances to beat him in the finals.

“It’s good to start the year this way. You cannot just look at the bad part of the story. You have to look also for the positive parts.

“You could say ‘Okay, I played bad, I should have played better, this and that’. You can find a lot of excuses.

“But realistically, I’m happy; I’m satisfied. I don’t want to push myself down because I lost a match against Federer.”