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Crowd jeers as Safin quits Montreal Masters
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Updated: 2001-07-31 10:04
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Defending champion Marat Safin was booed off court after quitting with a knee injury when trailing Frenchman Nicolas Escude 6-4 5-2 in the first round of the Montreal Masters on Monday.
The Russian second seed said there was no point carrying on with the problem he first felt at Wimbledon and aggravated last week in Los Angeles.
"It hurt when I had to serve and I couldn't run," the 21-year-old said. "After he broke me twice in the second set, I just gave up -- what could I do?"
Safin complained bitterly about his treatment at the hands of disappointed Montreal fans.
"They should try to understand, I'm injured," he said. "It's easy to sit in the stands eating popcorn and drinking beer. We are not machines here. No-one is coming here and going to die on the court.
"I don't think the way they treated me when I went off the court today was correct. It's the first time it's happened to me. Everyone's mad at me and it's not nice, really.
After being reminded that this was a hockey town where injuries are normally overlooked, Safin again defended his actions.
"I'm trying, what can I do?," he said. "I don't think it's right to waste the spectators' time and the opponent's time by playing another game or two."
The US Open champion said he was unsure about his immediate tennis future. "I think my US season may be short," he added.
Safin's fellow countryman Yevgeny Kafelnikov, seeded sixth, also crashed out in the first round, losing 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 to American Todd Martin.
DOOR AJAR
With Safin gone and awaiting a doctor's opinion on his left knee, the door is ajar for top seed Gustavo Kuerten and last week's Los Angeles champion Andre Agassi at the sixth Masters Series of the season, played on a TV-friendly purple hardcourt at this former baseball stadium.
Tim Henman was the only one of three Britons to advance, the seventh seed beating Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan 6-3 6-3.
It was Henman's first match under his new American coach Larry Stefanki, former mentor to Kafelnikov and Marcelo Rios.
"It's good to get the hardcourt season off with a win," said the triple Wimbledon semifinalist.
"It's not the easiest transition to make. I wouldn't say it was the best match that either Paradorn or I played but I hung in there and got the job done."
British pair Greg Rusedski and Martin Lee both tumbled out. Montreal-born Rusedski was beaten 6-3 4-6 6-4 by former French Open champion Carlos Moya of Spain while Lee lost 3-6 6-4 6-1 to Czech Bohdan Ulihrach.
Rusedski was greeted with a mixture of restrained applause and some booing by the Canadian crowd.
German Nicolas Kiefer beat 12th-seeded Swede Thomas Enqvist 6-2 7-5, while Sweden's Andreas Vinciguerra ousted 15th seed Wayne Ferreira of South Africa 7-6 (7-1) 6-2.
The tournament is without a trio of top 10 players plus Pete Sampras, who pulled out overnight because of a thigh injury he sustained in Los Angeles last week.
Swiss teenager Roger Federer, who beat Sampras at Wimbledon, is not playing due to a groin injury that officials fear might also keep him out of next week's Masters tournament in Cincinnati.
Spain's Alex Corretja also withdrew citing a leg injury, while Sebastien Grosjean of France is sidelined with an ankle problem.
Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia has been elevated to 17th seed, with three qualifying round lucky losers also added to the 64-man draw.
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