Marat Safin claims to have played his last match at the Australian Open following his third round defeat to Roger Federer on Friday.
Russian says goodbye to Melbourne Park
Marat Safin claims he will not return to the Australian Open following his third round defeat to Roger Federer on Friday.
The mercurial Muscovite suggested retirement is on the agenda after going down 6-3 6-2 7-6 to his old foe, with whom he had some memorable matches down the years.
Safin lost to the Swiss legend in straight sets in the 2004 final in Melbourne, but exacted revenge a year later when he won an epic semi-final battle 9-7 in the fifth set before going on to lift his second Grand Slam title.
However, just days before his 29th birthday, Safin implied the end was near as he reflected on his tussles with Federer.
"I had some ups and downs here," he said. "One disappointment. Another great year. One final against Roger. And then one title I took here beating also Roger and (Lleyton) Hewitt.
"So I've been playing some great tennis. So just the whole thing, the whole setup. The beautiful city, great people.
"It's always nice to come here every year, year after year. Unfortunately, I doubt it's going to ever happen again.
"I've been already too many years. I want to change and do something else. I'm ready for that.
"It's been a nice trip. It's enough."
Greatest ever
Safin paid tribute to Federer, who won 10 of their 12 clashes over the years.
"But anyway, I lost today probably to the better player, one of the greatest ones in the history of tennis," he added.
"I really hope for him to be so I can tell the story to my kids that I played with him. I think it's a nice story.
"He's the most complete tennis player in the history of tennis, that's for sure. With all due respects to (Andre) Agassi and (Pete) Sampras and the rest of the gang. But I never felt so uncomfortable against any of the players before.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't do better than that, three sets. It's just a sad story. It's not for me. I prefer to leave this way, quietly, nice, with a great match.
