Safin bows out early again

Russian looking forward to retirement

Last updated: 16th July 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Safin bows out early again

Safin: Nearing the end

I'm tired of the tour, tired of staying at hotels and tired of travelling...I've had enough now.

Marat Safin
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Marat Safin admitted he is ready to retire after another first round defeat at the Swedish Open in Bastad.

The former world number one crashed out to fifth seed Nicolas Almagro 6-3 7-6 as he gets ever closer to bringing the curtain down on his career.

The Russian announced earlier in the season that it would be his last and the former Australian Open champion has shown little appetite for the game in his farewell year.

"I'm tired of the tour, tired of staying at hotels and tired of travelling...I've had enough now," he said after losing the tie-break 8-6 against the Spaniard.

"I am tired of everything that has to do with rackets and balls. I want to do something completely different."

Meanwhile, Tommy Robredo began his quest for a third Swedish Open title with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Peter Luczak of Australia in their second round match.

The third seed received a bye past the first round and will take on Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili in the last eight.

French Open finalist Robiin Soderling was in a similar position in front of his own fans and opened his campaign with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Kristof Vliegen.

"I played OK," said the second seed. "The last game was tough. I was a bit lucky. I didn't hit that overhead clean. It's so fun to play here before a sellout crowd and feel the support."

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