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BNP Paribas Masters—Paris, France
Former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champ Marat Safin ended his 13-year career on Wednesday, losing respectably to No. 5 seed Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Safin, who won the Paris (Bercy) event in 2000, 2002, and, 2004 and was a finalist in 1999, broke del Potro in the 12th game of the second set, forcing the reigning US Open champion into a deciding set battle.
Del Potro, who broke Safin in the third game of the final set, hit 11 aces and won 80 percent of his first-serve points throughout the 1:55 contest.
Safin, who struck 15 aces past del Potro, gave the soldout crowd a powerful display of tennis during his final career match.
The 6'4" Moscow native began his tennis journey in Paris, reaching the 1998 French Open fourth round, defeating Andre Agassi and Gustavo Kuerten along the way.
After serving an ace on match point, del Potro and Safin embraced in a post-match hug, celebrating the successful career of the Russian.
Del Potro, who improved to 50-13 on the season, seemed almost embarrassed by defeating his idol.
"When I started to play ATP tournaments, I met him and I told to him 'You are my idol'" del Potro said, according to ATPworldtour.com . "After that, we started a good relationship. He's very friendly [and] he speaks Spanish. He's a great person. We will miss him in the tournaments."
Sitting beside Safin on his changeover chair, del Potro became part of the Russian's tribute, standing with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Gilles Simon, Ivo Karlovic, and Safin's good friend Marc Rosset.
Safin, who finished his career with a 422-267 mark, won 15 titles throughout his playing days, holding the No. 1 ranking for seven weeks throughout the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
"[My best moments] came in different stages of my career," Safin said in the same article. "Beginning with 1998 Roland Garros when I qualified and I beat [Andre] Agassi and [Gustavo] Kuerten and I lost to [Cedric] Pioline. And of course there is the next one, winning the 2000 US Open.
“I was a decent player," he told the Irish Times . "Just in general, I’ve been great to everybody, even if I had a few fights with chair umpires.”
The tall Russian alluded his intentions now that he is freed from the daily grind of the Tour.
“Now I have no schedule, no practices, no nothing,” he said. “I belong to myself. Tomorrow I’ll wake up and see what I want to do.”
Tennis won't be the same without Safin; that is a certainty.
With the win, del Potro will next face No. 10 seed Fernando Gonzalez. The Chilean gained a measure of revenge over John Isner, defeating the American 7-5, 7-6 (3).
Gonzalez, who gained 90 points in his charge to the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London, equaled Inser with 13 aces, but gained the lone break of the match by either player in the 12th game of the first set.
The 1:29 victory for Gonzalez improved his year-to-date record to 39-15, while evening his head-to-head with the 6'9" Tampa resident to 1-1. Isner had defeated Gonzalez in Basel last week.
No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic continued his impressive play this fall, defeating Argentine Juan Monaco 6-3, 7-5.
Djokovic, who won his fourth title this season in Basel last week, improved to 2-0 against Monaco, while taking his Tour-leading record to 72-18 on the year.
Djokovic was quite flat in his win over Monaco on Wednesday, displaying the adjusting period required between back-to-back events.
Nevertheless, the Serb did what he needed to do during his one hour and 31 minute victory, maintaining his six match winning streak.
"I didn't feel that great on the court," Djokovic admitted in the ATP World Tour article. "Probably a long week in Basel affected [me] physically. But I got a victory, and that's what matters most. I want to do well here in Bercy, because I [haven't] had a lot of success in the last couple of years. I have a lot of support. It's a pleasure playing in front of them."
Djokovic will next play Arnaud Clement, who defeated a subpar Tommy Haas by a 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8) score. The Frenchman saved a match point at 6-7 in the third-set tiebreak.
Haas, who was returning to Tour after a bout with swine flu last week, lost his first match to Clement in seven meetings. Haas had previously defeated Clement on hardcourt and twice on carpet.
Clement will take a 2-1 head-to-head deficit against Djokovic in their third-round encounter.
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