Marat Safin in doubt for Australian Open

World number two Marat Safin is in doubt for next week's Australian Open after suffering a recurrence of an elbow injury.

The U.S. Open champion was clearly in discomfort during his first-round 6-2 6-1 loss to Frenchman Nicolas Escude at the Colonial Classic exhibition event.

The 20-year-old Russian said it was recurrence of the same injury that forced him to miss a month's tennis in 1999 and may force him to miss the first grand slam of the year.

"It is the same feeling all over again," Safin said.

"I think I have broken a capsule in my elbow, so it makes it very difficult to serve. If you cannot serve, you cannot play tennis properly.

"I will see a doctor and decide whether I can carry on playing here and then decide about the Australian Open.

"I will try and play, but I know other players have had to have operations to cure this injury.

"The last thing I want is to go through that and be off the Tour for six months with this injury. I want to be healthy, so it will be better to do what it takes to recover from the injury now.

"If the medical advice says I can continue, I will play, but if the doctors advise me to stop and rest, I will have to do that. At the moment, I am afraid of making it worse."

Safin shot to prominence with his victory at Flushing Meadows in September, and was just 15 points behind Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten in the race to finish last season as the world number one.

The Australian Open, where Safin was expected to be named as the second seed, begins in Melbourne on January 15.