Canadian Frank Dancevic bowed out of the U.S. Open with a straight set loss to No. 25 seed Marat Safin Wednesday in New York.
Dancevic, from Niagara Falls, Ont., pushed Safin to the limit, but the Russian pulled out a 7-5, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) first-round victory to send the Canadian home.
Safin, who won the U.S. Open in 2000, battled back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set and saved a set point in the third-set tiebreak to advance after two hours and 25 minutes.
Dancevic served for both the second and third sets but could not close out the win.
The lone Canadian in the men's draw, Dancevic was competing at his first U.S. Open.
Dancevic, who is ranked 69th in the ATP, was looking to build on his recent success.
He defeated American Andy Roddick, the top seed at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, in late July before falling in the final to Dmitry Tursunov.
More recently, Dancevic thrilled fans in Montreal by advancing to the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup before losing to second seed Rafael Nadal.
Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., the only Canadian in the women's singles draw, fell in straight sets to Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain on Tuesday.
Toronto's Daniel Nestor is still alive in the men's doubles draw after winning his opening match with Mark Knowles of the Bahamas Tuesday night.
No. 11 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia also advanced to the second round with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 win over Frenchman Nicolas Devilder.
Ernests Gulbis of Latvia upset No. 30 Potito Starace of Italy 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
On the women's side Wednesday, fifth seed Ana Ivanovic eased into the third round with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Aravane Rezai of France.
The 19-year-old Serb trailed 3-1 in the opening set but stormed back to defeat Rezai, ranked 61st in the world.
World No. 1 Justin Henin of Belgium cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 second-round victory over Bulgarian Tszvetana Pironkova.
In another second-round match, No. 19 Sybille Bammer of Austria defeated American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-4, 6-3. Russian Ekaterina Makarova upset No. 28 seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Wimbledon champion and No. 12 seed Venus Williams beat Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania 6-4, 6-2. No. 14 Elena Dementieva of Russia defeatd Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2.
World No. 1 and three-time defending champion Roger Federer is in action Wednesday night.
Federer is trying to become the first man in the modern era to win four straight U.S. Opens. Bill Tilden won six in a row in the 1920s.
If Federer achieves his goal, it will also mark 12 Grand Slam wins for the Swiss star and leave him just two shy of tying Pete Sampras's modern-era record.
Heat keep Chris Quinn in fold
Point guard Chris Quinn re-signed Thursday with the Miami Heat.
NHL says no plans to move franchises or expand
The National Hockey League has shot down any speculation that franchises are in danger of moving or that the league is expanding in the near future.
MLS wants Beckham back by March
A senior Major League Soccer official told Reuters on Tuesday that David Beckham must return to the Los Angeles Galaxy for the start of the 2009 MLS season.
Contact Us About Us HomeMonday, March 15th, 2010