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  • Three-time champion Safin begins Paris campaign

    10/27/08 3:06 AM | David Cox
    - Three-time Paris champion Marat Safin begins on Monday against Argentina's Juan Monaco.

    Safin won this title in 2000, 2002, and 2004. The first time he had just claimed his first slam at the US Open and he finished the year in style with a five-set final win over Mark Philippousis 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, saving several match points. In 2002, it was an emphatic run to the title from the Russian, who dropped just one set en route, (against Nicolas Escude in the quarters) before taking out Lleyton Hewitt 7-6, 6-0, 6-4 in the final. In 2004 Safin did the Madrid-Paris Masters Series double in a stunning end-of-year run (which he continued into 2005 - winning his second slam in Melbourne). In 2004 he beat Ivan Ljubicic, Hewitt, Guillermo Canas and Radek Stepanek to complete the hat-trick.

    With Rafael Nadal in his section, his prospects of making it four titles this year look rather slim, but with Safin you never know. He's been typically inconsistent this autumn, losing early in Bangkok and St. Petersburg (losing to eventual finalist Andrey Golubev, a qualifier), but it all came together in Moscow where he just narrowly missed out on the title, falling to close friend Igor Kunitsyn in the final.

    It's been a bad year for Monaco, who has slipped from just outside the top 10 to 51 in the world. Indoors isn't his favorite surface and he got thumped 6-1, 6-1 by Stepanek in Madrid, but took a set off Gilles Simon in Lyon and came through qualies in Paris.

    Prediction: Safin in 2

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