Kuerten out but Safin progresses in Hamburg

Ossian Shine

World number one, top seed and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten was outfoxed by Belarussian journeyman Max Mirnyi in the first round of the Hamburg Masters on Tuesday and tumbled out 6-3 3-6 7-6 in the first round.

But second seed Marat Safin put his indifferent form behind him by storming into the second round with a 6-2 6-4 win over Jens Knippschild.

Kuerten, a loser in Rome two days ago, was sent packing in an intriguing Centre Court clash.

"He was motivated to beat me. I tried all I knew but he was too good today," the 24-year-old said afterwards. "I didn't take my chances."

Kuerten dug deep but was outfoxed by Mirnyi's tactics on an overcast day.

Mirnyi decided on his game plan early on and attacked the net relentlessly against the French Open champion.

On return he relied on the risky drop-shot return which kept Kuerten guessing throughout the encounter and which ultimately proved decisive.

"I had my tactics and they worked," Mirnyi said afterwards.

Safin has suffered a miserable clay court season so far this year, losing in the second round of both the Rome and Monte Carlo Masters.

But he hopes to have recovered from a nagging back injury that has hampered his serve.

SERVING BETTER
"I'm trying to get my confidence back. I feel much better," he said. "I was serving so much better. Now I just need to win some matches before the French Open.

"I started to serve at full power today and I think everything is okay."

Second seed Safin, who plays Argentine Gaston Gaudio next, was joined in the second round by eighth-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, the winner in Sunday's Rome Masters final against Kuerten.

But fellow Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov was sent spinning out 7-5 7-5 at the hands of flamboyant Frenchman Nicolas Escude.

The defeat leaves the sixth-seeded baseliner without a victory on clay this year, just two weeks before the start of the French Open.

A champion at Roland Garros in 1996, Kafelnikov also lost in the first round at the Monte Carlo Masters in April, at the Munich Open in Munich and at the Rome Masters last week.

Ferrero recovered from a slow start to beat compatriot Sergi Bruguera 3-6 6-1 6-4.

The 21-year-old, who won his maiden Masters title in Rome last week, looked lost on the slow German clay in the first set but soon bounced back to eliminate the two-times French Open champion.

Ferrero is hitting top form in the run up to Roland Garros and will be a serious contender for the French Open crown.

HRBATY OUSTED
Swedish fifth seed Magnus Norman and Australian seventh seed Lleyton Hewitt also advanced.

But 15th seed Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia was ousted by Germany's Tommy Haas 6-3 6-2.

Norman beat Switzerland's Marc Rosset 6-3 7-5, while Hewitt wasted no time dispatching Frenchman Arnaud Di Pasquale 6-3 6-2.

"I feel like I am getting better and better," Hewitt said afterwards.

"There are still a few areas of my game that I need to work on but I have got a couple of weeks before I really start settling in in Paris," he said of his clay court season.

Hewitt returned to action in Rome following almost a month off the Tour and said the break had done him good.

"I felt like I hadn't had a break for so long. So I just put the rackets down," he said.

"But it is really good to be back on the Tour now. I played Rome and now Hamburg -- two big tournaments on the calendar -- then I go to the World Team Cup where I am guaranteed a lot of matches against very good clay court players before the French Open.

"I am really happy to get through today and happy to be back."

In other action on a cloudy day in Hamburg, Spain's Albert Costa beat compatriot Francisco Clavet 6-3 6-4.