stefania bivone: Marat Safin and Dinara Safina

Friday, August 19, 2011

Marat Safin and Dinara Safina

As the pictures show, the fiery Russian, twice a grand slam winner, stunned fans when he turned up late at the mixed team Hopman Cup sporting two black eyes.

But Safin recovered to beat Italian Simone Bolelli 7-6, 6-4 in his opening match.

"I won the fight, I'm good, I'm ok," the former world No 1 said.

"I got in trouble in Moscow but it's ok, I can survive."

"It's just a small problem. I wasn't in the right place at the right time," he added, without elaborating.

Safin was enjoying his New Year’s Eve celebrations in Moscow last week while younger sister Dinara Safina clearly took a step away from her brother's shadow by arriving in Perth early to prepare for the pair's doubles matches.

A bruised and battered Safin saw a doctor on arrival in Perth and asked organisers to reschedule his match.

"I wasn't sure why he was arriving so late, why he was requesting to play a day later, but now I know why," tournament director Paul McNamee said.

Safin and his younger sister also teamed up to beat Italian pair Bolelli and Flavia Pennetta 2-1 in the Group B tie.

Safin had contemplated retirement after a disappointing season, but decided to prolong his career for at least another year.