CINCINNATI, 15 August 2007 — Former world No. 1 Marat Safin was dumped out in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters on Monday, beaten 6-3, 7-6 by German Nicolas Kiefer.
The Russian made too many unforced errors and Kiefer, still in the early stages of his comeback after a year out with a wrist injury, took advantage.
“It was just a bad day, that’s it,” Safin told reporters. “I couldn’t put the ball in the court at all. It wasn’t really a match.
“I’m not going to kill myself and feel bad for the next month and a half. It happened, but it’s not the match that I will remember for the rest of my life, so who cares. Play terribly and that’s it. Life moves on.” Former US Open and Australian Open champion Safin, now ranked 24th, started poorly, slipping to 5-0 down and though he got one break back, Kiefer took the set.
The German, ranked 222nd but in the tournament thanks to a protected ranking, broke to lead 2-1 in the second set but Safin gave himself hope when he broke back for 3-3 and held his serve to force a tiebreak.
The Russian then played a woeful tiebreak, double-faulting to hand Kiefer victory, 7-1.
“He’s a very tough guy to play against because he puts you under a lot of pressure and he’s a very strong person,” Kiefer said of the Russian.
“You never know with him, but today I think I played quite good tennis and was very, very smart. I served good, that was the key to the match.” Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych beat Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-3, 6-4, and 11th seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia recovered from a dreadful start to defeat American Amer Delic 1-6, 7-6, 6-3.
No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia crushed Slovak Dominik Hrbaty 6-3, 6-1.
Another former world number one, Carlos Moya, the 2002 champion, enjoyed a 7-6, 7-6 win over Argentine David Nalbandian to set up a clash with Serb Novak Djokovic, who won the Montreal Masters on Sunday.
Moya came from 3-0 down to win the opening set but the Spaniard let slip a 4-1 lead in the second before recovering to win a second tiebreak 7-2. Sixteenth seed David Ferrer saw off John Isner, the American who reached the final in Washington eight days ago, 7-6, 6-3, and Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela beat Briton Tim Henman 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Juergen Melzer of Austria, Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Nicolas Almagro, Finn Jarkko Nieminen and American Sam Querrey all claimed first-round wins.
Safina Survives Scare to
Advance in Toronto
Ninth seed Dinara Safina survived a first-round scare at the $1.3 million Toronto Cup on Monday before rallying to tame Frenchwoman Camille Pin 7-6, 3-6, 7-5.
Trailing 4-1 in the third set, Safina swept the next four games to claw her way back before finishing off the 91st-ranked Pin with a forehand winner to end the two hour 36 minute battle. Pin, who has played just one match win since Barcelona in June, had the 14th-ranked Russian in deep trouble with back-to-back breaks in the third set but could not deliver the knockout punch.
“I think I can say, I’m not one who will give an easy match,” Safina told reporters. “I always try to fight for every point, especially when you don’t feel like 100 percent.
“Then there is no other way, just shut up and fight.” Safina’s victory completed a perfect day for the seeded players with all six in action advancing to the second round.
Patty Schnyder continued her impressive buildup to the US Open with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Spain’s Anabel Madinah Garrigues.
The 10th-seeded Swiss struggled in the gusty conditions before prevailing in a sloppy opening set that featured five breaks. She seized command with an early break in the second and sent her Spanish opponent to a first-round exit for the third consecutive year. Schnyder has enjoyed a solid start to the hard court campaign, reaching the quarterfinals in Cincinnati and Stanford before falling to Maria Sharapova in three sets in the San Diego final.
Twelfth seed Tatiana Golovin of France advanced with a routine 6-2, 6-1 victory over Ukraine’s Julia Vakulenko but Israel’s Shahar Peer had a tougher passage, the 11th seed battling past Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek 7-5, 7-6. Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik was also made to work for her place in the second round, the 14th seed dropping the first set before roaring back to register a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Czech 16th seed Lucie Safarova also needed three sets to dispose of Uzbekistan’s Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 6-7, 6-1. The Toronto Cup has been hit hard by the late withdrawals of Sharapova, Venus Williams, Amelie Mauresmo and Martina Hingis but the $1.3 million event still boasts four of the world’s top five players led by No. 1 Justine Henin.
The Belgian, who received a first round bye, returns to the court in Toronto for the first time since her semifinal loss to Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli at Wimbledon.
