Winning a Grand Slam is usually cause for ecstasy, disbelief, and even tears. For Marat Safin, the second major title of his career inspired something different: relief.

Four and a half years after he announced himself by dismantling Pete Sampras at the 2000 U.S. Open, the immensely talented Russian beat back Lleyton Hewitt – and his own past – in winning yesterday’s Australian Open final, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

When he struck his final service winner, Safin exhaled, raised his fist, and gave a casual pump. He had taken out the hometown favorite in the centennial of his country’s tournament.

Throughout the match, the fans had howled and gasped on close shots, and Hewitt – stalking the first title by an Australian since Mark Edmondson in 1976 – riled them up with his traditional tirades. Yet Safin stayed the course, coolly firing serve after serve and knocking Hewitt all over the court with his two-fisted backhand. As he lumbered to the net for a final handshake, the 6-foot-4-inch Russian didn’t even crack a smile.

“One Grand Slam, you can win by mistake, you know, like I did in 2000,” the 25-year-old Safin said.”It was a mistake, actually. But this one, I worked really hard for that. It was more a working Grand Slam.”

Safin reached the finals in Melbourne twice before and was beaten both times, including a shocking defeat at the hands of Thomas Johansson in 2002. Last year, he lost a one-sided final against Roger Federer. Otherwise, the man who had played the perfect match in Queens at age 20 never came close to reaching that level again.There were embarrassing losses, racket-smashing tantrums, and many nights at the bar. As the disappointments piled up, Safin lost faith in himself.

“From the first final that I didn’t win against Johansson … I couldn’t see myself winning the Grand Slams anymore,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe, I didn’t believe.” All that changed, he said, when he hired Peter Lundgren, Roger Federer’s former coach, last year.

For Hewitt, falling one match short was no consolation prize for what might have been an historic moment for Australian tennis. The 23-year-old altered his training leading up to this tournament, adding 10 pounds to his slight frame and arriving in Melbourne primed for the sort of fight he seems to like best: Lleyton versus the world.

The courts were too slow, the evenings were too cool, the chair umpires overruled too many calls one day, too few the next. On court, Hewitt was unrelenting, trying the patience of his fellow players not only with his tenacity, but with his celebratory screams and shouts – whether he had hit a winner or watched an opponent make a costly error.

But Hewitt’s desire and his sprinter’s speed were not enough against Safin. It became apparent yesterday that this was the Russian’s tournament to win, and there would be no collapse this time.

“I didn’t lose the match,” Hewitt said. “He had to win it.”

During the first set, it was unimaginable that Safin would even test Hewitt, never mind prevail. For 23 minutes, he was a model of imperfection – 13 unforced errors, a first-serve percentage of 42, and not a single ace. Safin said he was nervous, and it showed. Normally swift on his feet, Safin looked stiff.

“What I was doing, I couldn’t call it tennis,” Safin said.

Hewitt, meanwhile, didn’t make a single mistake in holding Safin to 11 total points. The crowd was pleased and Hewitt uncharacteristically quiet, not once yelling “C’mon!”

Rather than deciding it was Hewitt’s day, though, Safin adjusted. He hit more kick serves, giving his shorter opponent trouble with high bounces. He charged the net more often and on better approaches, many of them hit behind Hewitt rather than in the direction the Australian expected to run.

Leading 2-1 in the second set, Safin got his first opening: two Hewitt errors that resulted in two break points. Safin wasted no time, smacking a forehand return down the line for a winner. He cleaned up his game thereafter, making just seven errors in winning the set.

But no sooner had the Russian climbed back in the match, he seemed ready to bail out. Hewitt saved two break points in the first game of the third set, and began shouting more as the pressure mounted. Leading 1-0, he was at his scrappy best.

As Safin swung for the corners, He witt scrambled, throwing up a defensive lob, returning an overhead, and charging a poorly placed drop shot for a forehand winner. Moments later, he was shouting at chair umpire Carlos Ramos for an overrule in favor of Safin (replays proved Ramos correct).

After a Safin error, Hewitt earned himself a break point by anticipating a Safin put-away and blocking it into the open court. On cue, Safin missed a forehand and smashed his racket; Hewitt pumped his fists. He was in control.

Up 4-2, Hewitt seemed ready to step on Safin’s throat.At break point, he was called for a foot-fault on an ace. How did the fiery Hewitt respond? First, he played his best point of the night, a 33-stroke rally punctuated with a running, down-the-line forehand winner from the doubles alley that made it deuce. Then he turned around and gave the linesperson an earful for the foot-fault call, receiving a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.

It’s easy to lose one’s patience when confronted with Hewitt’s antics, and at the moment Safin had a hopeful crowd against him, too. But it’s amazing what fighting off a match point against Federer can do for a player’s confidence. Though his tennis had seemingly taken a turn for the worse, Safin kept at it. He earned another break point, only to frame a difficult overhead into the net when the crowd gasped mid-swing. Unfazed, he connected on his next overhead, and won the game with a belted backhand.

Then Hewitt lost his grip. Serving at four games all, he made an error and watched helplessly as Safin hit a forehand winner. Hewitt saved one break point, but at 30-40 he coughed up a double fault and Safin served out the set.

The final indignity for Hewitt arrived early in the fourth set. He had taken a 40-15 lead, but Safin was in top form. First, the Russian retrieved a backhand on the run, using one hand, then raced across the court to rip a forehand winner down the line as Hewitt stood at the net. Flustered, Hewitt missed an easy backhand and tossed up an overhead within Safin’s reach. Safin broke Hewitt’s spirit with the point of the match, moving him farther and farther off the court, drawing him in with a soft backhand drop shot, and then hooking a backhand crosscourt for a winner.

At 2-0, there was still plenty of time for Safin to fall apart. He didn’t even come close. He hit seven aces in the set and lost just one point on his first serve (for the tournament, Safin hit only seven double faults in seven matches).

When he served his final ball, at 40-0, Hewitt couldn’t find the court. Safin looked weary, he looked tired, but he looked satisfied, too. He was a one-hit wonder no more.

***

American Donald Young won his first junior Grand Slam event yesterday, defeating Kim Sun-Yong of South Korea, 6-2, 6-4 at the Australian Open. At 15-years-old, Young is the youngest junior to win a junior Grand Slam and the youngest to earn the rank of no. 1 junior in the world. He is also the first African-American to be ranked no. 1 in world junior singles.