MELBOURNE, 31 January 2005 — Fourth seed Marat Safin stared down the challenge of local hero Lleyton Hewitt to win the centenary Australian Open yesterday.

His 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory earned the big Russian a second grand slam crown after his 2000 US Open triumph.

Runner-up here in 2002 and 2004, Safin hugged third seed Hewitt and raised his arms in triumph after crashing an unreturnable serve on the final point.

Hewitt, winner at Wimbledon in 2002 and the US Open in 2001, has now lost the last two grand slam finals after he was beaten by world No. 1 Roger Federer in the US Open last year.

The disappointed Australian however will rise to number two in the world after reaching his first home final.

Safin had got off to a slow and nervous start but changed the course of the match in a drama-charged third set, when he staged a stunning comeback after being down 3-0 to Hewitt, who was buoyed by his home crowd on Rod Laver Arena centre court.

Safin had two chances to break Hewitt’s serve in the first game of the third set but Hewitt saved both break points and then held his own serve after the Russian made two sloppy errors in a game which typified the early stages of the match.

Hewitt in turn broke Safin in a controversial second game of the third set. He set up his first chance when he outfought Safin in a long rally and then hit a forehand winner when Safin failed to put away a smash.

The tenacious Australian exploded in anger when, at deuce, a Safin forehand on the line was called out by a baseline judge but the call was over-ruled by chair umpire Carlos Ramos, who ordered the point to be replayed.

“Don’t be a hero here, mate,” Hewitt said to Ramos.

Hewitt seemed to be spurred on by the incident and broke Safin, who put a forehand wide at deuce. Hewitt then got a lucky break when he blocked a half-volley past the stranded Safin.

Safin in turn became enraged with his own game and slammed his racket into the court as Hewitt held serve for a 3-0 lead.

Safin then called for a trainer at the change of ends to massage his thighs. He in turn got angry over a corrected line call in the next game, arguing with Ramos in Spanish.

Hewitt desperately scrambled to save a break point in the sixth game but Ramos gave him a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct when the Australian aggressively pointed his finger at a baseline judge after hitting a forehand winner to get back to deuce.

Safin eventually broke Hewitt when he crunched a backhand winner down the line. After the point he argued again with Ramos, who warned both players they risked a point penalty if there were any further outbursts.

Versatile Draper Wins Mixed Doubles Title

What began with a chance phone call ended in a dream come true for Scott Draper yesterday as the Australian won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

The 30-year-old, who’d traded his tennis racket for a set of clubs when he made his professional golf debut on Thursday, teamed with compatriot Samantha Stosur to beat Zimbabwean Kevin Ullyett and Liezel Huber of South Africa 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 in the mixed doubles final.

“This is some sort of dream come true,” Draper said.

“We’ve got a grand slam title now and no one can take that away from us. It’s just a great feeling. For me, it might never happen again. I’ll always cherish today.”

Stosur was originally due to play with another Australian, Todd Reid, but when he pulled out on the eve of the event, she called Draper, who has a protected ranking after an injury-hit 2004.

Draper answered the SOS call and the pair romped to victory in their first tournament together.