MOSCOW -- Marat Safin struggled to beat Russian qualifier
Denis Matsukevitch 7-6 (2), 7-5 Tuesday and advance to the second
round of the Kremlin Cup.
The 28th-ranked Safin, recently returned from a hiking trip in
Nepal, was playing as a wild card.
"I thought he would be scared," Safin said. "But he wasn't
and dragged me to a tiebreaker in the first set."
Safin played after cutting short his trip to climb Cho-Oyu, the
world's sixth-highest mountain.
"At least I've done something I wanted to do all my life,"
Safin said. "But next time I have a chance, I'll try to be more
prepared."
Safin's doubles partner, seventh-seeded Dmitry Tursunov, beat
German qualifier Mischa Zverev 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Tursunov originally planned to play doubles with Igor Kunistsyn,
but Russia Davis Cup captain Shamil Tarpischev has asked him to
play with Safin to practice a possible doubles pair to face the Bob
and Mike Bryan in the United States vs. Russia Davis Cup final in
Portland, Ore., Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
Also, top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of
France 7-6 (0), 6-2 and will next face Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador,
who rallied to beat Fabrice Santoro of France 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
On the women's side, eighth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova struggled to
beat Russian qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova 7-6 (3), 6-3.
After trading breaks early in the first set, Davydenko twice
broke the 53rd-ranked Tsonga in the second set to close the indoor
carpet match.
Davydenko said he watched Tsonga play at the U.S. Open, where
the Frenchman often advanced to the net.
"I was preparing myself for his style of playing," said
Davydenko, who lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals of the U.S.
Open. "However, he was not playing this way, making life much
easier for me today."
Fourth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu, who won here in 2002, ousted
Sebastien Grosjean 6-2, 6-2.
"It's great to beat someone you've never beaten before," said
Mathieu, who lost to Grosjean in their three previous matches.
In the women's event, eighth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova struggled
to beat Russian qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Vaidisova next plays Elena Vesnina of Russia, who beat
Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland 6-2, 6-4.
Tatiana Perebiynis of Ukraine beat Michaella Krajicek of the
Netherlands 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 and will face fourth-seeded Serena
Williams, who had a first-round bye.