Safin 'no' to Davis Cup

Marat Safin has confirmed that he will not be taking part in Russia's Davis Cup semi-final against Argentina next week.

Russian prefers to chase ranking points

Marat Safin has confirmed that he will not be taking part in Russia's Davis Cup semi-final against Argentina this weekend. The former Australian Open champion will instead play in the Thailand Open in Bangkok in an attempt to boost his ailing world ranking, which has slipped to number 38. "Marat will not be going to Argentina for Davis Cup," said a statement on the 28-year-old's website. "He needs to keep getting points before the end of the year and he felt the trip from Buenos Aires to Bangkok would be very long and tiring, and could make it difficult for him to play well in Bangkok in order to get points. "He talked to (Russian captain) Shamil Tarpischev and asked to be released from the team for Davis Cup which Tarpischev agreed to. "Marat's thoughts will be with the Russian team and he wishes them all the best of luck and to play well and win." The Russians will rely on Nikolay Davydenko, Igor Andreev and Dmitry Tursunov with Mikhail Youzhny already sidelined through illness. Igor Kunitsyn has been named as reserve.