Hewitt sends Safin packing

Lleyton Hewitt came out on top in the battle of the former world number ones at the ATP Las Vegas Open.

Australian knocks Russian in Las Vegas first round

Lleyton Hewitt came out on top in the battle of the former world number ones at the ATP Las Vegas Open, knocking out Russia's Marat Safin 6-2 6-1. The Australian got the defence of his title off to a bright start by breaking Safin in the fourth game of both sets before securing victory inside an hour. Safin, who has fallen to 87th in the world rankings, struggled with his serve and won just 40 percent - eight of 20 - points on his first serve. "Marat is a tough guy to play because he has so much power," Hewitt said. "I mixed up my play a little bit and he struggled. But you never know with Marat. He can turn it on at anytime. "The first round of any tournament is tough until you get your teeth into it. "I knew I had to be on my game from the start." In other first round matches, fourth seed Guillermo Canas ousted Sweden's Thomas Johansson 6-3 7-6 (7-3) and eighth seed Nicholas Kiefer overcame fellow German Benjamin Becker 6-4 6-3. American Sam Querrey also made it through to the second round after coming through 6-2 4-6 7-6 (10-8) following a tense third set tiebreak against France's Sebastien Grosjean. Querrey's unseeded compatriot Robby Ginepri also made it through past Belgium's Xavier Malisse courtesy of a 2-6 6-3 6-4 victory.