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Marat Safin - RUS |
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Photo by Adam Davis |
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Marcos Baghdatis - CYP |
RETIRING RUSSIAN AMONGST
AMERICAN HOPEFULS
LOS ANGELES - 29 year old Marat Safin of Russia was the
featured match against Robbie Ginepri (USA) last night at the LA
Tennis Open. Safin appeared to frustrate Ginepri to a 3-6, 6-3,
6-4 first round win.
At first, Ginepri had all the answers. He responded to
everything Safin threw at him. Ginepri took the first set
comfortably. Safin's inconsistency offered many opportunities
for Ginepri to take over the match. In the second set, with
Safin leading 3-0, Marat double faulted three times to lose a
game and then blew an overhead sitter for another game.
There was a moment when Ginepri hit a cross-court backhand slice
winner just out of Safin's reach and it seemed he might possibly
come back when Safin slammed the door shut.
Safin was once ranked No. 1 in the world in 2000. He recently
announced 2009 would be his last year on the tour. He holds a
Grand Slam title at the 2000 US Open defeating Pete Sampras and
the 2005 Australian Open beating Lleyton Hewitt.
Safin, seeded eighth, plays Ernests Gulbus (LAT) on Wednesday.
The second night match featured American Sam Querrey. He wasted
no time as he crushed Denis Istomin (UZB) 6-2, 6-0 in front of
hometown fans and family. He was a finalist in Indianapolis last
week and is in second place on the Olympus US Open Series.
Earlier in the day, a crowd favorite, Marcos Baghdatis of
Cypress managed a win against Frank Dancevic of Canada 7-6, 6-3.
He will face American John Isner who squeaked by Benjamin Becker
(GER) 7-6, 7-6.
In one of the best matches of the day 22 year old qualifier Ryan
Sweeting (USA) defeated fellow American Taylor Dent 6-4, 2-6,
6-3. They exchanged powerful ground strokes throughout the
match. Sweeting was able to take advantage as Dent appeared
slightly sluggish as the match ended.
On Wednesday, Legends singles is scheduled to start not before
5:00 and will feature Jim Courier vs Stefan Edberg.
The top seeds will headline the night play. Bob and Mike Bryan
start the evening matches followed by singles. 31 year old Tommy
Haas of Germany will play wild card entry Jesse Levine (USA).
Haas last won this tournament in 2006. Levine is 21 years old
and best known for defeating Marat Safin at Wimbledon last
month.
RESULTS
- TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2009
Singles - First Round
[5] Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) d [Q] Somdev Devvarman (IND) 75 62
[6] Sam Querrey (USA) d Denis Istomin (UZB) 62 60
John Isner (USA) d [7] Benjamin Becker (GER) 76(8) 76(3)
[8] Marat Safin (RUS) d [SE] Robby Ginepri (USA) 36 63 64
Ernests Gulbis (LAT) d Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) 75 62
[Q] Ryan Sweeting (USA) d [WC] Taylor Dent (USA) 64 26 63
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) d [SE] Frank Dancevic (CAN) 76(3) 63
[Q] Carsten Ball (AUS) d Marc Gicquel (FRA) 62 76(6)
Leonardo Mayer (ARG) d [Q] Josselin Ouanna (FRA) 62 63
Doubles - First Round
Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) / Dusan Vemic (SRB) d [4] Stephen Huss
(AUS) / Ross Hutchins (GBR) 63 67(4) 10-6
ABOUT THE LA TENNIS OPEN PRESENTED BY FARMERS INSURANCE
The LA Tennis Open Presented by Farmers Insurance has been played every
year since 1927, making it the longest-running annual professional
sporting event in Los Angeles. Played since 1984 at the LA Tennis Center
on the campus of UCLA, the tournament is part of the Olympus US Open
Series, the six-week summer tennis season linking 10 ATP World Tour and
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour events to the US Open that in 2008 drew a record
of more than 50 million television viewers. Proceeds from the LA Tennis
Open benefit the grassroots programs of the non-profit Southern
California Tennis Association (SCTA) and UCLA. The SCTA offers programs,
leagues, and tournaments involving 300,000 juniors and 50,000 adults and
seniors. Information on tickets and the tournament can be found at
www.LATennisOpen.com
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