Max Mirnyi defeated Marat Safin 7-6 7-6 1-6 4-6 11-9 in the BLR vs RUS round robin on carpet. The upset overturned the form book — Marat Safin came in leading the head-to-head 2–1. That levelled the head-to-head at 2–2.
Mirnyi M. came through in five sets.
Mirnyi M. and Safin M. faced 4 of the same opponents in the last 12 months. Mirnyi M. went 1–6 (14%) against them, Safin M. 2–2 (50%). Results against comparable opponents are close (0 : 1 better-results split).
Only 4 common opponents — small sample, treat as indicative.
Carpet: Mirnyi M. leads 1–0 · Clay: Safin M. leads 1–0 · Hard: level 1–1
Max Mirnyi beat Marat Safin 7-6 7-6 1-6 4-6 11-9. Umpiry, "Max Mirnyi vs Marat Safin — BLR vs RUS Round Robin", https://umpiry.com/match/2004-02-06/mirnyi-vs-safin-blr-vs-rus-rr?utm_source=cite (as of 6 February 2004).