Hewitt through to Stockholm second round

Agencies, Stockholm

World number one Lleyton Hewitt went into the second round of the Stockholm Open on Tuesday without having to play a single point as Sweden's Thomas Enqvist pulled out ahead of the game with a shoulder injury.

"I am the loser today, I've spent so much time trying to get back in time for Stockholm," said Enqvist, who has struggled with his shoulder since the US Open last month.

Chilean sixth-seed Marcelo Rios had a far tougher time beating Australian doubles specialist Wayne Arthurs 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.

Rios got the better start breaking Arthurs to 2-1 on a blistering return, after which both players held serve.

The Chilean clinched the set in style serving out to love on an ace but the second set proved closer as both players held on to serves all the way to the tie-break.

Arthurs, who gambled on his heavy serve throughout the match, produced some fine serve and volleying to take the tie-break 7-5.

But the Australian seemed to run out of steam in the final set as Rios broke him twice to take a 4-0 lead before winning 6-1.

In the second round Rios takes on American Jan-Michael Gambill, who beat Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-1, 3-6, 7-6, winning the final set tie-break 10-8.

In St. Petersburg, Russia, two-time St Petersburg Open champion Marat Safin launched his title defense with an unconvincing three-set victory over unfancied Cyril Saulnier on Tuesday.

The Russian second seed struggled to subdue the French qualifier 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 in their first round match.

Safin said after the match that his preoccupation with making it into the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai had unsettled him.

"There was always Shanghai in my head," he told reporters. "I want to go there very badly. It is very important to play good here and get into the final because it's my last chance to get to Shanghai."

The former US Open champion needs to make the final in St Petersburg to accumulate enough points to get into the season's final tournament.

Safin, who made numerous poor shots and double faults in the second set, said he was happier with his performance towards the end.

He added that he had no fear of facing top seed Andre Agassi, who plays his first match on Wednesday.

Fellow countryman Yevgeny Kafelnikov had an easier time, disposing of Germany's Michael Kohlmann 7-6 (7-4), 6-0, while another Russian, wild card entry Andrei Stolyarov, scored a surprise win over Frenchman Anthony Dupuis 7-5, 3-6, 7-6.

In Basel, Switzerland, Swiss wildcard Ivo Heuberger toppled eighth seed Alex Corretja 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 on Tuesday in the opening round of the Basel Swiss Indoors.

"I'm really happy with the win," Heuberger said. "I'm feeling really good. I've been hitting the ball well the last two weeks in training and I'm glad I could prove it on the court."

The defeat was costly for Corretja, ruining any chances of securing a berth at the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup.

The Spaniard is ranked 15th in the race for the Masters, with only eight players qualifying. Corretja will be unable to accumulate enough points with only the tournament in Paris remaining before the showcase event.

German qualifier Alexander Waske won 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 over local wildcard George Bastl, who is best remembered for his second-round upset of Pete Sampras at Wimbledon this year.

In other play, seventh seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile defeated Italian Davide Sanguinetti 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in their first indoor matchup, while Spain's Felix Mantilla downed Lars Burgsmuller of Germany 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-4.

France's Arnaud Clement ousted compatriot and last year's surprise semifinalist Julien Boutter 6-3, 6-4 while Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador eliminated Fernando Vicente of Spain 6-3, 6- 2.

In Linz, Austria, former Wimbledon winner Conchita Martinez of Spain and former French Open champion Iva Majoli of Croatia were both ousted from the 000 Generali Ladies Open Tuesday.

While Majoli went down in three sets to unseeded Argentine Paola Suarez, Martinez, who won Wimbledon in 1994, was trounced by American Alexandra Stevenson, losing 1-6, 2-6.

Earlier in the day Paola Suarez beat Croat Iva Majoli 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-1 in the first round.

Anastasia Myskina of Russia eliminated Czech Denisa Chladkova in two sets, 7-6 (5), 6-1, while seventh seed American Chanda Rubin reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Eleni Danilidou of Greece.

Russia's Nadia Petrova advanced after defeating Petra Mandula of Hungary 6-3, 6-1, while in an all-Austrian duel, former top ten player Barbara Schett defeated Patricia Wartusch 6-0, 6-3 to move on to the next round.