Born on January 27th 1980 in Moscow, Marat began playing tennis at the age of six with his father Misha, who was director of a small tennis club and her mother, Rausa Islanova, who served as his coach up to age 13. Turning Pro in 1997, he was named ATPNewcomer of the Year in 1998, and ATP Most Improved player at the end of the year 2000. He's won a considerable number of tournaments up to now, his biggest title being the 2000 US Open. Since then, he feels the pressure of being known as one of the world's top players.