Hewitt takes little time to send Safin packing

This time, there was little drama between Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin.

Hewitt saw to that as he let Safin be his own worst enemy in their opening-round match Monday night at the Tennis Channel Open.

The two had met in last year's semifinals, with Hewitt prevailing, 7-5, 6-1. On Monday, Hewitt, the defending champion and No. 2 seed, played smart, conservative tennis, forcing Safin to gamble in an attempt to keep up. Hewitt's plan paid off as he routed Safin 6-2, 6-1, taking just 56 minutes to complete the task at the Darling Tennis Center.

"I tried to mix up my play and I think he struggled a bit," Hewitt said. "Normally, he's going to make a lot of errors. But he's also going to come up with some big winners."

Not Monday. Safin had 31 unforced errors in the two sets as his high-risk, high-reward game plan blew up in his face.

"I should have been more patient, but I wasn't," Safin said.

It was a busy opening day at the Darling Center as the moderate weather brought out the biggest first-day crowd in the three-year history of the event, though tournament officials refused to reveal an official attendance. Americans Sam Querrey and Robby Ginepri each won three-set matches to advance to the second round. Querrey defeated Sebastien Grosjean 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), while Ginepri ousted Xavier Malisse, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

But it was Hewitt and Safin who were the big draw. They were meeting for the 13th time (each had won six matches) and knew each other's game well.

But the difference Monday was Safin was not in match shape. He has been hampered by a torn ligament in his right ankle, and a viral infection had kept him sidelined for the better part of the last five weeks. He had played just once since the Australian Open in mid-January, that being a week ago in Memphis, Tenn., where he was eliminated in the first round.

His timing was off. His consistency was nil. For every brilliant shot he would execute, he'd hit three bad ones.

"It's obvious I need more matches," the Russian said. "I've practiced plenty, but it's not the same."

Hewitt was the exact opposite. The Australian played brilliant defensive tennis, using his backhand effectively to return Safin's serve. He broke Safin at 2-1 in the first set, then finished him off with a second break at 5-2.

"Marat is a tough player to play against," Hewitt said. "He has a lot of firepower. But I had a good return game working and I was able to put back a lot of his good shots."

Hewitt used that strong backhand return to break Safin at 2-1 in the second set. In a matter of minutes, it was over and Hewitt was on to the second round, where he'll face the winner of today's match between Jonas Bjorkman and Julien Benneteau.

While Hewitt had an easy go of it Monday, Querrey was put to the test by Grosjean. Querrey squandered four match-point opportunities in the third-set tiebreaker and was on the brink of being ousted at 8-7. But he pulled even with his serve and won the last three points to advance to the next round against Nicolas Kiefer.

"I was getting tired of losing," Querrey said of tiebreakers. His recent history had him dropping a match to Kei Nishikori last month at Delray Beach, Fla., after squandering four match points.

"Winning a match like this definitely helps with my maturing. It's a real confidence booster."

Ginepri bounced back to defeat Malisse after a listless first set. He broke Malisse twice in the second set and advanced to face the winner of today's match between Vince Spadea and third-seeded Marcos Baghdatis.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2913.