Marafat Safin upset out of St. Petersburg Open

Agencies, St. Petersburg, Russia

Unheralded Vladimir Voltchkov of Belarus stunned two-time defending champion Marat Safin of Russia with a straight-sets victory in the second round of the US$975,000 St. Petersburg Open on Thursday.

Voltchkov, who received a wild card by the organizers, won 6- 4, 6-4.

Safin, who hasn't won a tournament since taking a title here last year, double-faulted two times in the seventh game of the opening set to trail 0-40. He saved one break point before returning wide on his next serve. Voltchkov held his serve and fired an ace to close the set in game 10.

Down 15-40 on his serve in the third game of the second set, Safin blasted an ace to save one break point, but then his forehand went wide to give Voltchkov another break. Safin evened 2-2 in the next game only to be broken again in game 5.

The 24-year-old Belarusian served at love in the next game and then again in game 8, firing in five powerful winners in a row for a comfortable 5-3 lead. Safin smashed his racket in frustration.

"I didn't play good at all, I didn't do anything to beat (him), so maybe it's the reason. I hope, it's the reason," said the 22-year-old Russian, who is currently No.3 in the ATP Champions Race and is close to qualifying for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.

"I don't know. Something is going wrong. It's just terrible," Safin said.

In other matches Thursday, Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia defeated fifth seed Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6 (7/1), 7-5; while Nicolas Kiefer of Germany defeated Max Mirnyi of Belarus 6-3, 7- 5.

Top seed Andre Agassi was to take on Karol Kucera in a late second-round match Thursday.

In Vienna, Austria, American Chanda Rubin beat Russia's Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the Generali Ladies WTA women's tournament on Thursday.

The seventh seed Rubin will next face either Yugoslav Jelena Dokic, seeded third, or American Jill Craybas.

Fifth seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia beat Barbara Schett of Austria 6-1, 7-5; while eighth seed Silvia Farina Elia of Italy beat Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian of Switzerland 6-4, 6-3.

Jennifer Capriati, the tournament's top seed and world number three, has already qualified for the quarterfinals, along with Israel's Anna Smashnova.

In Basel, Switzerland, Spaniard Felix Mantilla defeated host favorite Ivo Heuberger 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) in the $1 million Swiss Indoors ATP tennis tournament on Thursday.

Second seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain defeated Frenchman Nicolas Thomann in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.

Also proceeded to the next round was Arnaud Clement of France, who defeated Romanian Adrian Voinea also in straight sets 6-3, 6- 4.

In Luxembourg, Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia beat Antonella Serra Zanetti of Italy 6-4, 6-2 in the second round match of the $225,000 Luxembourg Open WTA tennis tournament on Thursday.

Seventh seed Elena Bovina of Russia beat American Amy Frazier 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, while eighth seed Janette Husarova of Slovakia beat Vera Zvonareva of Russia in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.