Safin finds his feet on clay at Swedish Open

Published Date: 09 July 2008 MARAT Safin, a surprise semi- finalist at Wimbledon, found the transition from grass to clay difficult to master, but did just enough to beat Spaniard Marc Lopez at the Swedish Open in Bastad yesterday. The big-serving Russian former world No1 won 7-6, 7-5 in two hours 20 minutes to set up a second-round meeting with Italian Potito Starace. Safin, who defeated Novak Djokovic on his way to the semi-finals of Wimbledon before losing to Roger Feder er, clinched the first-set tie-break 8-6 after a rare double fault by Lopez. In the second set, the double grand slam winner, now ranked 40 in the world, looked more comfortable and played more aggressively, breaking him to go 6-5 up. "It's tough coming here straight from the grass," Safin admitted. "Here I have to work an extra shot to come into the net."... [read full story]