Historic records and career achievements
At the 1998 French Open, Safin shook the tennis world by defeating defending champion Gustavo Kuerten in the second round in 5 sets, taking out the defending champion in his first Grand Slam appearance. He was named ATP Newcomer of the Year by the end of the season. The following year he reached the finals of Paris Masters on his first attempt, losing in the final to reigning world No. 1 Andre Agassi.
He set several records in 2000, including some that still stands today. In August, Safin defeated qualifier Harel Levy to win his first Masters Series title at the 2000 Canada Masters, becoming one of the few players in the Open Era to win a Masters tournament on their first attempt. In September, Safin defeated 4-time champion and 4th seed Pete Sampras in the final in straight sets to win his first Grand Slam title at the 2000 US Open. By winning the US Open at the age of 20 years and 228 days, Safin became the 3rd youngest winner in the history of the tournament at the time and the first, and was the only Russian to win the title in men's singles until his country man Danil Medvedev won the US open title in 2021 by defeating Novak Djokovic. He also became the youngest Russian to win a Grand Slam. After winning his second Masters title of the year at the Paris Masters in November, Safin became the youngest player in the Open Era at the time to reach the World No. 1 ranking at the age of 20 years and 299 days, a record since broken by Lleyton Hewitt in 2001. Safin's total number of titles (7) and finals (9) was the most on the 2000 ATP Tour, and he is also named ATP Most Improved Player.
In 2002, Safin reached his first Australian Open final, but was upset by Thomas Johansson, who has never progressed beyond the quarterfinals of a Slam prior to this tournament, in 4 sets after winning the first set. He reached the final at the Hamburg Masters for the second time in 3 years (first being in 2000). Later, he also reached his first French Open semifinal, and almost regained the No. 1 ranking (he was ranked world No. 2 for 13 weeks after the French Open). In November, he won the Paris Masters for a second time, defeating reigning world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets. In December, Safin lead Russia to her first Davis Cup title. The team made Davis Cup history by being the second to win the event after losing the doubles tie-breaker, and being the first team to win a (live-televised) five-set finals match by coming back from a two-set deficit. He won the ATP Fan's Favorite for the record second consecutive time after winning it in 2001, which was later broken by Roger Federer in 2005.
After a series of injuries that sidelined him for the majority of the 2003 season, Safin reached his second Australian Open final in 2004, with a win over 1st seed Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals and Andre Agassi in the semifinals, ending Agassi's 26-match win-streak at the Australian Open, however both matches has gone to five sets and Safin was physically drained for the final, as none of his matches during the tournament went under 4 sets. He was defeated by Roger Federer in straight sets, and as a result, Federer became world No. 1 for the first time in his career, and would go on to hold it for a record 237 weeks. In October, he won a Masters title in Madrid, defeating world No. 10 David Nalbandian in straight sets in the final. In November, he won the Paris Masters for a record-tying 3rd time, defeating Radek Štěpánek in straight sets in the final. The record was later broken by Novak Djokovic in 2015. Safin became the first man to win Paris Masters twice in 2 attempts. By winning the Madrid Masters and Paris Masters in the same year, Safin became the first man in Open Era to win the last two Masters title at the same year.
In 2005, Safin reached his 3rd Australian Open final in 4 years, after a memorable win over Roger Federer in the semifinals in 5 sets that lasted 4 hours and 28 minutes as a rematch of last year's final, saving a match point in the 4th set and ending Federer's 26-match win streak over Top 10 players, to set up a clash with home favorite Lleyton Hewitt. Safin prevailed in 4 sets after losing the first set to win his first Australian Open title, becoming the first man since Stefan Edberg in 1985 to win Australian Open after saving a match point, and remains the last man to do so. He became the first Russian since Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1999 to win the Australian Open. However, injuries kept him off court for the remainder of the season since August, and he was forced to miss significant tournaments including Madrid Masters, Paris Masters (both of which he was the defending champion), US Open, and Tennis Masters Cup.
In 2006, Safin led Russia to a second Davis Cup title, after winning the decisive final rubber against José Acasuso in 4 sets. In 2007 Safin again helped Russia reach the Davis Cup final, winning a decisive rubber against Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets in the quarterfinals. However, Safin did not play in the final, and Russia lost 1–4 to United States. In 2008, Safin became the first Russian male to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, defeating 3rd seed Djokovic in straight sets in the second round which would follow a run of 28 consecutive quarterfinals appearances at Grand Slam tournaments and become the Serb's earliest loss at a Grand Slam event until the 2017 Australian Open. He also became the fourth of five active players at the time to reach the semifinals in all four Grand Slams, joining Federer, Nalbandian, and Djokovic, and the only Russian in the history to do so.
In 2016, Safin became the first Russian to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 2001, Hewitt became, at the time, the youngest man to reach No. 1 in the ATP singles rankings, at the age of 20 years, 8 months and 26 days. In total, he won 30 singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2000 US Open men's doubles title, back-to-back Tour Finals titles in 2001 and 2002, and the Davis Cup with Australia in 1999 and 2003. Between 1997 and 2016, Hewitt contested a record twenty consecutive Australian Open men's singles tournaments, his best result being runner-up in 2005. He was also the runner-up at the 2004 US Open.
Andrew Stephen Roddick is an American former professional tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals, losing to rival Roger Federer each time. Roddick was ranked in the year-end top 10 for nine consecutive years (2002–2010), first reaching the world No. 1 spot in 2003, while also winning five Masters titles in that period. He was also a crucial player in the U.S. Davis Cup team's successful run to the title in 2007. Roddick retired from professional tennis following the 2012 US Open to focus on his work at the Andy Roddick Foundation. In retirement, Roddick played for the Austin Aces in World Team Tennis in 2015. He was also the 2015 and 2017 champion of the QQQ Champions Series. In 2017, Roddick was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is married to Brooklyn Decker, a swimwear model and actress.
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a Spanish tennis coach and a former world No. 1 professional player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he held for eight weeks. He was runner-up at the 2002 French Open and 2003 US Open and won 16 ATP Tour titles, including four Masters events. He was nicknamed "Mosquito" for his speed and slender physical build. Ferrero retired from professional tennis following the 2012 Valencia Open. He has since been a tennis coach to two-time ATP Finals champion and Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev, and to US Open, French Open and Wimbledon champion and world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
Marat Mubinovich Safin is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player and former politician. Nicknamed 'Safinator', he achieved the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) top singles ranking on 20 November 2000. Safin began his professional tennis career in 1997, and held the No. 1 ranking for a total of nine weeks between November 2000 and April 2001. When Safin became the world's number one player in 2000, he became the youngest world number one in the ATP era of tennis. He won his first major title at the 2000 US Open, defeating Pete Sampras in the final, and his second at the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Safin helped lead Russia to Davis Cup victories in 2002 and 2006. Despite his dislike of grass courts, he became the first Russian man to reach the Wimbledon semifinals in 2008.
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He reached his highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006, during a career that stretched from 2000 to 2013. Nalbandian was runner-up in the singles event at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships. During his career, he won 11 singles titles, including the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005 and two Masters 1000 tournaments. Nalbandian is the only Argentine man in history to reach the semifinals or better at all four majors and to reach the Wimbledon final. He was a member of the Argentinian Davis Cup team who reached the finals of the World Group in 2006, 2008 and 2011. Nalbandian played right-handed with a two-handed backhand, regarded at the time to be one of the best on tour. Nalbandian is considered one of the biggest underachievers of the game and one of the greatest players to never have won a grand slam title. Since his retirement, Nalbandian has taken up the sport of rally racing and has competed in Rally Argentina.
Thomas Mario Haas is a German-American former professional tennis player. He competed on the ATP Tour from 1996 to 2017. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997 and reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in May 2002, his career was interrupted by injuries: Haas twice dropped out of the world rankings due to being unable to play for twelve months. His first period of injury saw him miss the whole of the 2003 season, and he did not return to the world's top 10 until 2007. He also was absent between February 2010 and June 2011, but returned to world No. 11 in 2013 by reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time. Haas reached the semifinals of the Australian Open three times, and in Wimbledon once. He reached the quarterfinal stage of each of the major events. He won 15 career titles in singles, including a Masters title at the 2001 Stuttgart Masters, and a silver medal from the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Dominik Hrbatý is a Slovak former professional tennis player. Hrbatý reached the semifinals of the 1999 French Open, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in October 2005. Hrbatý is one of only three players, alongside Nick Kyrgios and Lleyton Hewitt, to have beaten each member of the Big Three the first time he played them.
Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo, is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters earlier in the year. Robredo reached the quarterfinals at seven singles major tournaments. He was also a three-time semifinalist at the US Open men's doubles tournament, and a semifinalist at the Australian Open in mixed doubles.
Marat Safin defeated Lleyton Hewitt in the final, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 2005 Australian Open. It was his first Australian Open title and second and last major title overall, having previously won the 2000 US Open. Safin saved a match point en route to the title, against Roger Federer in the semifinals. Hewitt was the first Australian to reach the final since Pat Cash in 1988.
Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis coach and former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gerald Melzer, with whom he played doubles in several tournaments.
The 2002 ATP Tour was the global elite men's professional tennis circuit organised by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the 2002 tennis season. The ATP Tour is the elite tour for professional tennis organised by the ATP. The ATP Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Tennis Masters Cup, the ATP Masters Series, the International Series Gold and the International Series tournaments.
This is a list of the main career statistics of retired professional American tennis player, Andy Roddick. Throughout his career, Roddick won thirty-two ATP singles titles including one grand slam singles title and five ATP Masters 1000 singles titles. He was also the runner-up at the Wimbledon Championships in 2004, 2005 and 2009 and the US Open in 2006, losing on all four occasions to Roger Federer. Roddick was also a four-time semifinalist at the Australian Open and a three-time semifinalist at the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals. On November 3, 2003, Roddick became the World No. 1 for the first time in his career.
This is a list of the main career statistics of Australian tennis player, Lleyton Hewitt. To date, Hewitt has won thirty ATP singles titles including two grand slam singles titles, two ATP Masters 1000 singles titles and two year-ending championships. He was also the runner-up at the 2004 Tennis Masters Cup, 2004 US Open and 2005 Australian Open. Hewitt was first ranked World No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) on November 19, 2001.
Roger Federer won three Majors in 2004. The first came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin, 7–6(3), 6–4, 6–2. He went on to win his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick, 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–4. In addition, Federer defeated the 2001 US Open Champion Lleyton Hewitt at the US Open for his first US Open title, 6–0, 7–6(3), 6–0. Furthermore, Federer won three ATP Masters 1000 events, one on clay at Hamburg, and two on hard court in Indian Wells and Canada. Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai, and wrapped up the year for the second time over Lleyton Hewitt at the Tennis Masters Cup. Federer was the first player to win three Grand Slams in a single season since Mats Wilander in 1988.
Roger Federer contested two major finals in 2005, winning both at Wimbledon over Andy Roddick, 6–2, 7–6(2), 6–4, and the US Open over Andre Agassi, 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(1), 6–1. However, Federer failed to make the final at the other two majors, losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Marat Safin and the French Open to Rafael Nadal. Nevertheless, Federer won four Masters titles at Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati on hard courts and one clay court title at Hamburg. Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai. Federer lost the year-end championships to David Nalbandian in the final.
Roger Federer's 2010 season was punctuated by his victory at the Australian Open, beating Andy Murray in the final. Federer played in 18 tournaments in 2010 and won five. He was runner-up in the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open to Rafael Nadal. At the French Open, he faced his opponent in the previous year's final, Robin Söderling, at the quarterfinals stage and lost. As defending champion at Wimbledon, he was defeated in the quarterfinals by Tomáš Berdych in four sets, thus ending his streak of seven consecutive Wimbledon finals and also falling to world No. 3, his lowest ranking since 2003. During the summer hard-court season, Federer hired Paul Annacone to be his coach and revive his form. At the 2010 US Open, Federer advanced to his seventh straight semifinal appearance, but lost to Novak Djokovic in five sets, despite holding two match points in the final set. Federer's ranking slipped back from No. 2 to No. 3 after the tournament, but he finished the year strong with victories in Stockholm, Basel, and the ATP Tour Finals to pass Djokovic in the rankings and finish the year at world No. 2. By the end of 2010, Federer had earned wide consideration as the greatest male tennis player of all time.
Roger Federer won his first Major title at Wimbledon, when he defeated Mark Philippoussis in the final, 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–6(7–3). Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 Event in Miami with Max Mirnyi, and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 final in Rome on clay, which he lost. Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour, of which he won seven, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna. Lastly, Federer won the Year-End Championships over Andre Agassi.
Roger Federer's first ATP Tour-level tournament was the 1998 Gstaad Open, where he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the round of 32 and lost, 4–6, 4–6. Federer's first final came at the 2000 Marseille Open, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset, 6–2, 3–6, 6–7. Federer's first tournament win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor, where he defeated Julien Boutter, 6–4, 6–7, 6–4. The most prestigious finals he contested at this time included the 2002 Miami Masters, where he lost to Andre Agassi, 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6. Shortly thereafter, Federer won his first Masters Series event at the Hamburg Masters on clay, 6–1, 6–3, 6–4, over Marat Safin.
The 2006 Rafael Nadal tennis season started in February as Nadal missed the Australian Open because of a foot injury. Nadal won five singles titles in 2006.
This is a list of the combined career statistics of the Big Four, the four players who have dominated men's tennis in singles for the majority of the first quarter of the 21st century. The Big Four consists of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.
Pete Sampras 
Thomas Johansson 
Roger Federer 
Lleyton Hewitt 
Gustavo Kuerten 
Harel Levy 
David Nalbandian 
Radek Štěpánek 
