Top-seeded and former champion
Mikhail Youzhny and two-time winner Marat Safin were among Wednesday's
winners at the $750,000 St. Petersburg Open.
The 2004 St. Petersburg titlist Youzhny, fresh off his title last week in his
native Moscow, stayed red hot with a 6-3, 6-2 opening-round victory over
Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev. Golubev was last year's St. Petersburg runner-up
to British star Andy Murray.
Up next for Youzhny will be Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.
An unseeded former world No. 1 Safin defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-6
(7-5), 6-4 to reach the second round. The 2000 and 2001 St. Petersburg
titlist Safin is making his final appearance here as he intends to retire from
the ATP World Tour at season's end.
The two-time major titlist Safin will meet fifth-seeded fellow Russian Igor
Andreev on Thursday.
In some second-round action involving top-four seeds, No. 2 Victor Hanescu of
Romania handled Ukrainian Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-4 and talented Latvian
Ernests Gulbis upended No. 4 Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (9-7), 6-3.
Other Day-4 second-rounders saw eighth-seeded Argentine Horacio Zeballos
dismiss Ukrainian qualifier Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr. 6-3, 6-1 and German Bjorn
Phau take out Slovakian Karol Beck 6-4, 2-1, retired on the indoor hardcourts
at SCC Peterburgsky. Beck quit due to an respiratory illness. Zeballos will
meet Gulbis in Friday's quarterfinals.
In one other first-round bout, Russian favorite Igor Kunitsyn toppled seventh-
seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-4, 6-3.
The 2009 St. Petersburg titlist will collect $115,150.
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