Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Marat Safin beat local favorite Lleyton Hewitt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to win the Australian Open tennis title for the first time after twice losing finals in the past three years.

Fourth-seeded Safin, who upset top-ranked Roger Federer in the semifinal, denied third-seeded Hewitt the chance to become the first home men's champion in 29 years. It was the Russian's second Grand Slam after the 2000 U.S. Open.

Safin, 25, succeeded at the third attempt in a Melbourne Park final after losing the 2002 championship to outsider Thomas Johansson and to Federer last year. He's the second Russian to win the season-opening major after Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1999.

Hewitt, 23, was trying to add to U.S. Open and Wimbledon titles. The last Australian man to win his home Grand Slam was Mark Edmondson. Of tennis's four major championships, only Wimbledon has waited longer for a home champion.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Baynes at Melbourne Park through the Sydney news room at at dbaynes@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 30, 2005 06:39 EST