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Safina eliminates defending champion Maleeva in Kremlin Cup
Moscow, Oct 01: Defending champion Magdalena Maleeva was eliminated by Russian teenager Dinara Safina 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 yesterday in the first round of the Kremlin Cup.
Moscow, Oct 01: Defending champion Magdalena Maleeva was eliminated by Russian teenager Dinara Safina 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 yesterday in the first round of the Kremlin Cup.
Maleeva, the fifth-seeded Bulgarian, was a set and a break down before she rallied against Safina, the 17-year old sister of former US Open champion Marat Safin.
Maleeva led 3-1 in the third set after taking seven break points to break Safina, but the latter remained subborn and broke back. In the 12th game, a crosscourt forehand winner set up two match points on Maleeva's serve, and Safina converted the first on a wide Maleeva return.
It was Maleeva's second first-round upset as a Kremlin defending champ. Maleeva won the inaugural ladies Kremlin Cup in 1994 and successfully defended her title the next year. But in 1996 she lost to Karina Habsudova of Slovakia in the first round.
Maleeva won her third Kremlin title last year by beating three top-10 players: Venus Williams, Amelie Mauresmo, and Lindsay Davenport.
Safina is looking for her second title this year. She won a tournament this summer in Palermo, Italy, for her second career title.
In men's play, second-seeded Agustin Calleri marked his Kremlin debut with an easy 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian wild card Denis Golovanov. Calleri, who won his first career title in Acapulco, Mexico, in February, is the highest seed after Igor Andreev of Russia upset top-seeded Sjeng Schalken on Monday.
Bureau Report
Maleeva, the fifth-seeded Bulgarian, was a set and a break down before she rallied against Safina, the 17-year old sister of former US Open champion Marat Safin.
Maleeva led 3-1 in the third set after taking seven break points to break Safina, but the latter remained subborn and broke back. In the 12th game, a crosscourt forehand winner set up two match points on Maleeva's serve, and Safina converted the first on a wide Maleeva return.
It was Maleeva's second first-round upset as a Kremlin defending champ. Maleeva won the inaugural ladies Kremlin Cup in 1994 and successfully defended her title the next year. But in 1996 she lost to Karina Habsudova of Slovakia in the first round.
Maleeva won her third Kremlin title last year by beating three top-10 players: Venus Williams, Amelie Mauresmo, and Lindsay Davenport.
Safina is looking for her second title this year. She won a tournament this summer in Palermo, Italy, for her second career title.
In men's play, second-seeded Agustin Calleri marked his Kremlin debut with an easy 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian wild card Denis Golovanov. Calleri, who won his first career title in Acapulco, Mexico, in February, is the highest seed after Igor Andreev of Russia upset top-seeded Sjeng Schalken on Monday.
Bureau Report