 Youzhny, Safin win St. Petersburg openers
2009-10-28 15:34:00
St. Petersburg, Russia (Sports Network) - Top-seeded and former champion Mikhail Youzhny and two-time winner Marat Safin were among Wednesday's winners at the $750,000 St. Petersburg Open. The 2004 St. Petersburg titlist Youzhny, fresh off his title last week in his native Moscow, stayed red hot with a 6-3, 6-2 opening-round victory over Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev. Golubev was last year's St. Petersburg runner-up to British star Andy Murray.
Up next for Youzhny will be Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.
An unseeded former world No. 1 Safin defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to reach the second round. The 2000 and 2001 St. Petersburg titlist Safin is making his final appearance here as he intends to retire from the ATP World Tour at season's end.
The two-time major titlist Safin will meet fifth-seeded fellow Russian Igor Andreev on Thursday.
In some second-round action involving top-four seeds, No. 2 Victor Hanescu of Romania handled Ukrainian Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-4 and talented Latvian Ernests Gulbis upended No. 4 Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (9-7), 6-3.
Other Day-4 second-rounders saw eighth-seeded Argentine Horacio Zeballos dismiss Ukrainian qualifier Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr. 6-3, 6-1 and German Bjorn Phau take out Slovakian Karol Beck 6-4, 2-1, retired on the indoor hardcourts at SCC Peterburgsky. Beck quit due to an respiratory illness. Zeballos will meet Gulbis in Friday's quarterfinals.
In one other first-round bout, Russian favorite Igor Kunitsyn toppled seventh- seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-4, 6-3.
The 2009 St. Petersburg titlist will collect $115,150.
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