A dejected Marat Safin after losing the Australian Open final to Roger Federer on Sunday. (Reuters)

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Marat Safin yelled to worried fans in Melbourne Park as he prepared to serve in the opening game of the third set of the Australian Open men’s final.

It was wishful thinking. Safin was not fine, at least not by the standards he set in the matches leading up to Sunday’s showdown with second-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland.

After a phenomenal run through the top half of the draw and past the world’s No. 1 player Andy Roddick and the defending champion Andre Agassi, Safin’s first serve was no longer as consistent or convincing in the match that mattered most.

His ground strokes were not as steady, his approach shots not quite as precise, his returns not quite as intimidating, his dark side not nearly as subverted as he let his racket fly and his fears flit across his broad, stubble-covered face.

In between the inevitable flashes of brilliance, there were screams and self-loathing from Safin, and some highly diverting interchanges with the crowd, which had grown quite attached to the world-beating Safin in the last two weeks and had some difficulty accepting his fall to earth.

“Guys! Don’t give me a hard time; I’m trying my best,” Safin shouted as the third set wore on.

But on this cool and overcast afternoon, Federer’s best was quite a bit better, and his convincing 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-2 victory in two hours and fifteen minutes earned him his first Australian Open title. It remains to be seen whether it marks an end to the age of parity in men’s tennis.

Coming into this tournament, the last eight Grand Slam singles titles had been won by eight different men, but Federer has now stopped that streak. He won Wimbledon in grand style last year, and he further burnished his reputation in Australia, handling a very difficult draw down the stretch with telling poise and panache.

He beat one of his nemeses, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, in the fourth round in four sets. He beat another one, David Nalbandian of Argentina, in the quarter finals; then he ripped through the French Open champion, Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, in straight sets in the semi-finals.

All that remained was Safin, the first player of his talented micro-generation to come of age and the first to break down physically, missing most of last season with an injured left wrist and other ailments.

But though Safin, once No. 1 in the world, arrived here with a ranking of 86, he arrived in perhaps the best physical condition of his career after an intense December in the normally more sedate environs of Monte Carlo. That training and his renewed appetite for the game were essential to his success here as he bounced back from five-set marathons with his explosiveness intact.

Against Agassi, in one of the finest start-to-finish men’s matches in memory, Safin served 33 aces and no double faults and, with rare exceptions, kept his thoughts and demons to himself.

Against Federer, the mood, particularly in the final two sets, was starkly different, and the final numbers were just as telling: three aces and five double faults; 19 winners and 41 unforced errors.

The first set was crucial. If Safin had fought through it, he might have found more sources of energy and optimism. But when Federer won it, it must have suddenly seemed like a long way back to Safin, a 24-year-old who had already spent nearly 20 hours on the court in Melbourne this year.

Safin saved two set points on his serve at 5-6 in that opening set, but he lost command of his first serve after that, winning only one point in his serve in the ensuing tie-breaker. Federer closed out the set with a forehand that clipped the net but was still moving rapidly enough to sail past Safin for a clear winner.

It was that sort of afternoon, and Safin had a similar experience two years ago when he reached the final of the 2002 Australian Open and was beaten in four sets by Thomas Johansson of Sweden.

Safin was favoured in that match, but this time, Federer was the favourite, and, like the women’s champion Justine Henin-Hardenne on Saturday, he handled the responsibility in impressive fashion.

Federer, even without a coach in his corner for the moment, is the complete package, and on Monday, he will rise to No. 1 in the world rankings, only fitting considering that he holds two of the four Grand Slam titles and also won last season’s year-end championships, the Tennis Masters Cup, in Houston.

Ferrero will be No. 2; Roddick, who came into this event with the top ranking, will slip to No. 3.

Federer, with his multi-surface proclivities and snowballing confidence, hopes to keep it that way for many matches and titles to come. “My goal is to stay No. 1 for as long as I can,” he said.

Safin’s goal is to get back into the winner’s circle. For now, like so many other young men in the ultra-competitive modern game, he remains a one Slam wonder; albeit an endearing one.

“I’m really sorry,” he told the crowd in his post-match remarks. “I just ran out of gas today.”

Federer had nothing to apologise for, only something to celebrate, and when he held serve for the last time in Melbourne this year, he sunk to his knees, his arms in the air and a wide smile on his face.