The curtain came down on Marat Safin's tennis career on Wednesday as he lost in the second round of the Paris Masters.
Del Potro defeat spells the end for former world number one
The curtain came down on Marat Safin's tennis career on Wednesday as the Russian was beaten in the second round of the Paris Masters by Juan Martin Del Potro.
Safin, 29, announced his decision to retire earlier in the season, but bade his final farewell in Paris - where he has three times previously been champion.
The former world number one put up a typically aggressive display against Del Potro and fought back to level the match after losing the first set.
However, in the decider his Argentine opponent always had the edge and went on to complete a 6-4 5-7 6-4 victory.
Tournament officials organised a special ceremony to mark Safin's retirement straight after the match which was attended by a host of players both past and present and a clearly touched Safin stated: "It's a little bit special.
"I'm happy to get through to the second round and play Del Potro, I hope he's going to do well here. He's confident now because of me so if he's going to win it he can send me some prize money!
"This is the day where all my memories will be in one box. I'm closing one door, hopefully another door will be opened."
"It's a special feeling. It means a lot to me that you all came here to say goodbye to me."
Cheered on by a partisan crowd, Safin produced plenty of trademark groundstrokes in what was an entertaining clash with the newly-crowned US Open champion.
But having surrendered the first, he looked on course for a straight-sets defeat as he fell 0-30 behind on serve at 5-5 in the second.
He responded, though, and gave his adoring fans one final demonstration of his spirit as he held and then forced a break to force the contest into a third set.
But there Del Potro was not to be denied and held the upper hand after securing a break.
Safin defied him momentarily with a forehand finding the line to fend off one break point on his own serve, but it only delayed the inevitable as Del Potro wrapped things up on his own delivery, closing out the match with an ace.
