"I felt like pulling my pants down, what's bad about that?" - When Marat Safin courted controversy in unusual fashion at French Open
Marat Safin once courted controversy in a very unusual fashion at the 2004 French Open. The Russian's comments came after his second-round victory over Spain's Felix Mantilla.
After defeating Agustin Calleri in the opening round, Safin found himself in a grueling battle against Mantilla, resulting in an epic marathon that spanned two days. The match was initially suspended due to darkness, with the score standing at 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-7.
After the match resumed, the Russian eventually won the last set 11-9 and advanced to the third round, where he defeated Potito Starace. However, he was then beaten by David Nalbandian in the next round.
Apart from Safin's resilience, what stood out the most during his match against Mantilla was his unusual way of celebrating. After winning a crucial point in the fifth set against his opponent's drop volley, the two-time Major champion pulled down his shorts to express his delight. He was penalized a point afterwards because of the controversial incident.
"It was a great point for me! I felt like pulling my pants down. What's bad about that?" Marat Safin told of the incident during a press-conference (via The Washington Post).
Marat Safin wasn't fined for dropping his pants during French Open 2004 2R clash against Felix Mantilla
While there were initial debates on whether Marat Safin should be fined for dropping his pants during his 2004 French Open second-round clash against Felix Mantilla, nothing like that happened ultimately. However, the Russian was fined $500 for racket abuse that had precipitated an earlier warning.
Safin wasn't happy with the state of tennis at the time and felt like the sport was "going down the drain" because officials were doing everything possible to "take away the entertainment."
"All the people who runs the sport, they have no clue! It's a pity that tennis is really going down the drain. They do everything that is possible just to take away the entertainment," he told the media (via The Washington Post).
He added:
"You're not allowed to do that; you're not allowed to do this. You're not allowed to speak whenever you want to speak."