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9/29/09 4:12 PM | Ricky Dimon
Marat Safin takes out Philipp Petzschner in three sets on Tuesday night in Bangkok. Safin will face Marco Chiudinelli on Thursday for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Marat Safin's final season on the ATP Tour has not been a smooth ride, but his farewell appearance in Bangkok at least got off to a good start on Tuesday night. Safin ousted Philipp Petzschner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in one hour and 37 minutes to reach the second round of the PTT Thailand Open.
Although the match did not turn out to be entirely routine, Safin took control right from the start. The 29-year-old Russian lost a mere four points in his first four service games, so two breaks were more than enough for him to take the first set with ease. Petzschner crippled his own cause with dismal serving, putting in just 50 percent of his first deliveries while double-faulting three times.
Not surprisingly, Safin soon made things far more difficult on himself than necessary. His serve fell apart throughout the second frame of play and he won only six of 16 points in which he had to toss in a second offering. Petzschner, meanwhile, picked up his game--especially on serve--and he saved one break point to make his lone break of Safin be the difference. The fifth-seeded German won 14 of 18 first-serve points in the second en route to forcing a final set.
This time, however, it was Safin's turn to regain the momentum. The former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion broke immediately for a 2-0 lead and extended that advantage to 5-1 with his second break of the set. Losing it mentally just a bit, Petzschner refused to go away completely despite being down a double-break. He saved five match points with his opponent serving at 5-1 (the first courtesy of a Safin double fault), but Safin finally finished him off with an overhead smash from the baseline.
Safin finished with seven aces and six double-faults, while Petzschner double-faulted five times without striking a single aces. Their head-to-head series is now tied one apiece after Petzschner prevailed in the first round of this very same tournament last year. Next up for Safin is qualifier Marco Chiudinelli, a straight-set winner over fellow qualifier Florian Mayer.
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Alas, tennisfan76, he has fallen to qualifier Marco Chiudinelli in straight sets today.
gorafago , 10/1/09 1:39 PM
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Ricky - how right you are, Marat rarely makes life easy for himself (or long term fans like me!) I'd like him to reach the QFs at least, though I'm not holding my breath :) I half expected to read about another 1st round exit, so thank goodness for small mercies!
tennisfan76 , 9/30/09 12:07 PM