Marat Safin's farewell tour continued in Bangkok with a first round victory over fifth seed Philipp Petzschner in the Thailand Open.
Russian books place in second round as retirement beckons
Marat Safin's farewell tour continued in Bangkok with a first round victory over fifth seed Philipp Petzschner in the Thailand Open.
Safin, who will be retiring at the end of the season, defeated the German 6-2 3-6 6-1 to book a date with Switzerland's Marco Chiudinelli, who put out another German Florent Mayer in straight sets.
The 29-year-old Russian, a semi-finalist here in 2004 and 2006, is looking to reach only his second quarter-final of what has been a dismal final season on the tour.
"I've achieved what I want to achieve, I want to continue with doing something else," said the former US and Australian Open champion. "I've decided I want to do something else, which is, I think, fair enough.
"I want to get out of the tennis scene and try something completely different. I have plenty of time to think about it."
Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, who will also be retiring next month, failed to progress after going down 4-6 7-6 7-6 to Russia's Evgeny Korolev, failing to capitalise on three match points in a tense final set.
The seventh seed continues to be motivated at the age of 36 though, and is hoping to find success over the final eight weeks of his career.
"I have four tournaments to go and I want to do well," he said. "My desire is still just as strong on the court, but it's off the court where it's not the same.
"I don't train as much as I used to. I'd rather spend time with friends or at home than go to the gym. But I still go out to try and win every match.
"On the court there is no difference at all in my attitude."
Korolev will take on American Robby Ginepri for a place in the last eight after he beat local hope Danai Udomchoke 6-4 6-3.
Austrian sixth seed Jurgen Melzer is through following an easy 6-3 6-2 win over Brazilian Marcos Daniel while German Andreas Beck beat Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5 7-6 (7-1).
