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| Marat
Safin cruises to Mallorca Open title |
courtesymenstennis.com
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PALMA DE MALLORCA, Balearic Islands - Russian Marat Safin won
his second consecutive tournament title Sunday, beating Sweden's
Mikael Tillstrom 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the $475,000 Mallorca
Open.
Last week, Safin won the Seat Godo Open in Barcelona, Spain.
After being unable to win in the first three months of this
year, he was on the verge of quitting the sport altogether.
But he changed coaches just before Barcelona, and with new coach
Andrei Chesnokov has won his last two tournaments.
Against Tillstrom, Safin gained confidence when he won the first
set, then routed his Swedish foe in the final set of a match
that took less than one hour.
"The serve of Safin was too powerful," said Tillstrom. "The
worse thing is to receive his serve, and although I had a pair
of opportunities in the first set, it was impossible."
Safin's appearance in the final at Palma's specially adapted
bullring came one year after he was knocked out of the same
tournament in the first round.
"Some months ago nobody was remembering me and I was about to
leave it and get into other things because I am young and I
can learn," said Safin. "That's why I can't say that I will
be the No. 1 in the future. It's something unpredictable."
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