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Sports

Thursday September 3, 2009

Top seed Safina nearly runs aground in opening match

THE Russian armada of potential US Open champions nearly lost its commander when top seed Dinara Safina had to dig out of a third-set quandary to avoid the humiliation of a first-round exit on Tuesday.

Safina, the world’s top-ranked player, uncorked 48 unforced errors and 11 double faults before conquering Australian Olivia Rogowska 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 35 agonising minutes.

“I didn’t break any racquet and I didn’t get a warning so that’s already a positive,” said Safina, a triple Grand Slam finalist whose volatile temperament is well documented.

While Safina escaped and set up a second-round encounter with Ger­many’s Kristina Barrois, compatriots Maria Sharapova Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva advanced easily.

No trouble at all: Andy Murray of Britain takes a tumble during his first round match against Ernests Gulbis of Latvia on Tuesday. Murray won 7-5, 6-3, 7-5. — AP

On the men’s side, 2008 runner-up and second seed Andy Murray ad­­vanced, along with 2007 finalist Novak Djokovic, the fourth seed, and hard-hitting number seven Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Safina’s near-flame-out allowed her to avoid the dubious distinction of becoming the only top-seeded woman to lose in the first round of the US Open.

The explosive Muscovite was down 0-3, 15-40 in the final set before making a Houdini-like escape on the sun-drenched hardcourt at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I will never give up,” said Safina, still looking for her maiden Grand Slam triumph.

“So it doesn’t matter how I play, I will run and I will stay there forever. I will do everything to win the match.”

She certainly never gave up but she was certainly helped by the 65 unforced errors and 13 double-faults from her little-known opponent across the net.

The match was a festival of errors, each player begging the other to take command. When Rogowska assumed control in the final set, her nerves got the best of her.

“I’m disappointed that I was in a winning position and I let it go,” said Rogowska, an 18-year-old wildcard from Melbourne ranked 167th.

“But it’s a great learning experience. I’m getting confidence that I can match it up to the number one player in the world.

“I have to get more mentally tougher, and hopefully not let it slip again next time.”

Sixth seed and 2004 winner Kuznetsova stomped Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-2, while Sharapova, the 2006 champion, blitzed Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3, 6-0. Another Russian contender, 2004 finalist Dementieva, routed Frenchwoman Camille Pin 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes.

Murray used a patient game to defeat big-hitting Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-5, 6-3, 7-5, while Djokovic never lost his serve and cruised past Croat Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.

The fans at Flushing Meadows were gracious to Djokovic, who was booed loudly a year ago after he made some sarcastic comments towards Andy Roddick during a courtside interview.

“What happened last year was like a fight with a girlfriend,” he said. “These things happen. It was something that everybody can learn from it.

“I always felt at home here. I played so well last three years. I see no reason for me thinking about something that happened already.

“So today was great. I just hope that the fans will behave nice in the next rounds.”

Tsonga beat American Chase Bucha­nan 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 to set up a second-round match against Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, who beat Italy’s Fabio Fognini 7-5, 7-6, 6-4. — Reuters

Men: Kevin Kim (US) bt Dudi Sela (Isr) 6-3, 0-6, 6-2, 6-2; Novak Djokovic (Ser) bt Ivan Ljubicic (Cro) 6-3, 6-1, 6-3; Maximo Gonzalez (Arg) bt Karol Beck (Svk) 2-6, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3; Fernando Verdasco (Spa) bt Benjamin Becker (Ger) 7-5, 6-4, 7-5; Florent Serra (Fra) bt Janko Tipsarevic (Ser) 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5); Julien Benneteau (Fra) bt Flavio Cipolla (Ita) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3; Viktor Troicki (Ser) bt Peter Luczak (Aus) 6-3, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6, 6-1;

Tomas Berdych (Cze) bt Wayne Odesnik (US) 7-5, 6-4, 6-4; Horacio Zeballos (Arg) bt Michael Berrer (Ger) 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-0; Josselin Ouanna (Fra) bt Rajeev Ram (US) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) bt Nicolas Massu (Chi) 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; Marin Cilic (Cro) bt Ryan Sweeting (US) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4);

Jesse Levine (US) bt Teimuraz Gabashvili (Rus) 7-5, 6-1, 6-2; Denis Istomin (Uzb) bt Brendan Evans (US) 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3); Paul Capdeville (Chi) bt Victor Crivoi (Rom) 6-3, 6-0, 7-6 (7-2); Sam Querrey (US) bt Michael Yani (US) 6-3, 7-5, 6-4; Carsten Ball (Aus) bt Juan Pablo Brzezicki (Arg) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-4; Nicolas Lapentti (Ecu) bt Stanislas Wawrinka (Swi) 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3; Taylor Dent (US) bt Feliciano Lopez (Spa) 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 7-5; Ivan Navarro (Spa) bt Ivo Karlovic (Cro) 6-4, 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-5); Andy Murray (Bri) bt Ernests Gulbis (Lat) 7-5, 6-3, 7-5; Gael Monfils (Fra) bt Jeremy Chardy (Fra) 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.

Women: Sara Errani (Ita) bt Arantxa Rus (Ned) 6-0, 6-3; Anastasia Rodionova (Rus) bt Lourdes Dominguez (Spa) 6-0, 4-6, 6-1; Melanie Oudin (US) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) 6-1, 6-2; Nadia Petrova (Rus) bt Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) 6-3, 6-3; Dinara Safina (Rus) bt Olivia Rogowska (Aus) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4; Tathiana Garbin (Ita) bt Mallory Cecil (US) 6-0, 6-1;

Gisela Dulko (Arg) bt Ekaterina Makarova (Rus) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4; Sabine Lisicki (Ger) bt Aravane Rezai (Fra) 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6-1; Julie Coin (Fra) bt Eva Hrdinova (Cze) 6-3, 6-3; Petra Kvitova (Cze) bt Alisa Kleybanova (Rus) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-2; Kristina Barrois (Ger) bt Urszula Radwanska (Pol) 6-4, 6-4; Yaroslava Shvedova (Kaz) bt Masa Zec Peskiric (Slo) 6-3, 6-3; Jelena Jankovic (Ser) bt Roberta Vinci (Ita) 6-2, 6-3; Shahar Peer (Isr) bt Agnes Szavay (Hun) 6-2, 6-2; Elena Dementieva (Rus) bt Camille Pin (Fra) 6-1, 6-2; Carla Suarez Navarro (Spa) bt Varvara Lepchenko (US) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2; Christina McHale (US) bt Polona Hercog (Slo) 6-3, 6-1;

Shenay Perry (US) bt Monica Niculescu (Rom) 6-4, 6-2; Maria Sharapova (Rus) bt Tsvetana Pironkova (Bul) 6-3, 6-0; Zheng Jie (Chn) bt Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Ger) 6-3, 6-2; Alize Cornet (Fra) bt Monique Adamczak (Aus) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5; Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukr) bt Ana Ivanovic (Ser) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7).

Li Na (Chn) bt Michelle Larcher de Brito (Por) 6-1, 6-3; Aleksandra Wozniak (Can) bt Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) 6-4, 6-0; Flavia Pennetta (Ita) bt Sania Mirza (Iin) 6-0, 6-0; Elena Vesnina (Rus) bt Jill Craybas (US) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1; Magdalena Rybarikova (Slv) bt Chang Kai-chen (Tpe) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

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