Safin, Davydenko win at Kremlin Cup
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 Kunitsyn, but Russia Davis Cup captain Shamil Tarpischev has asked him to play with Safin to practice a possible doubles pair to face 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.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
