Melbourne: Australian Open champion Marat Safin feared nerves would once again get the better of him during Sunday?s centenary final against Lleyton Hewitt.

The Russian, twice a losing finalist at Melbourne Park, eventually overcame Hewitt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 but had thought his luck was out when he lost the opening set and trailed 1-4 in the third.

?In the first set, I didn?t believe I could win,? said Safin, who was beaten in the 2002 and 2004 Australian Open finals. ?I thought ?it?s going to happen again? and it?s hard to really believe I did win.?

After a slow start Safin suddenly seized control of the match late in the third set. He reeled off five games in a row to take a two sets to one lead then broke early in the fourth and held his remaining service games to seal victory.

?You saw the first set, it wasn?t really tennis,? he said. ?He started really well, he wasn?t as nervous as I was because I was thinking of the two finals I played and wasn?t successful.

?I was nervous and I couldn?t play tennis. You really have to deal with the pressure because normally it never happens but when you come to the final you are so tight because you want to win.

?I tried to play some tennis but I couldn?t. He has a huge experience, he?s won two Grand Slam titles, he?s won 24 titles, he?s a great player and he deals with pressure.?

Hewitt, who rode a wave of patriotism fuelled by his never-say-die attitude to reach his first Australian Open final, was gracious in defeat, saying Safin deserved to win because he had beaten world No. 1 Roger Federer in the semi-finals.

?I?d like to congratulate Marat on a hell of a tournament. He?s one of the best players in the world,? Hewitt said.

?He had a great finish to last year and knocked off the guy who?s been nearly impossible to beat (Federer), so he thoroughly deserved it.

?I?d never made it past the round of 16 here before... but I?ll try and go one step further next year.?

?I?m sure in a couple of days I?ll look back and think that it?s been a great achievement. I?ll have no regrets and I?ve put absolutely everything into this tournament,? Hewitt said.?But right at the moment, I?m human and I?m disappointed,? the 23-year-old said.

?You know, to come that close, train so hard to put yourself in a position, it?s hard to take at the moment,? he added.

Hewitt wasn?t even born when Mark Edmondson ? the last Australian to win the championship ? beat John Newcombe in the 1976 final but a seven-year-old Hewitt did see Pat Cash get to the final in 1988.

In 1997 Hewitt, then only 15, became the youngest qualifier to make the Australian Open main draw and he has not missed one since, although he has so far been unable to match his 2001 U.S. Open and 2002 Wimbledon victories. (Reuters)