Safin defeat caps eventful second day in Madrid

Russian number three seed Marat Safin slumped to a 7-6, 7-6 second-round defeat to Argentina's Agustin Calleri at the end of an eventful second day at the Madrid Masters on Tuesday.

Safin, still with work to do to qualify for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, lost the first set 8-6 on the decider but then mounted a comeback in the second, moving a break ahead at 3-0.

Calleri, however, refused to buckle and broke back with a stunning backhand down the line to force a second tie-break.

He took that 7-5 as Safin, who broke his racket in frustration at one point in the second set, put a backhand long, bringing an end to the match in two hours seven minutes.

"I was playing well in the second set and I think I could have won it in a third but my chance went," Safin said.

"It's very disappointing."

Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero had also been in trouble in their second-round matches but the Spanish favourites survived in matches that were both timed at two hours 41 minutes.

Number eight seed Moya was given a real pounding by the powerful Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and had to save a match point before clinching a 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 victory.

He was followed on court by Ferrero, seeded fifth, who was pushed all the way by Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in a 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 success.

There was no such centre-court escape for Gustavo Kuerten in a first-round match played earlier on Tuesday.

The former world number one was hustled out 6-4, 6-4 by Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan, who pinned the Brazilian back with his fizzing serve and accurate groundstrokes.

Kuerten, who underwent hip surgery earlier in the season, was playing the event on a wildcard after reaching the final in Lyon last week, but his comeback was stopped in its tracks by a sharper Paradorn.

"Kuerten was a bit slow moving around court but that may have been because I was moving him around a lot," said Paradorn, who goes on to face British number one Tim Henman in the second round.

"I was very confident out there. I felt I had nothing to lose."

RANKING POINTS

Moya, in need of ranking points to safeguard his place at the Masters Cup, had plenty to lose in his clash with Gonzalez.

He was in real trouble in the first set as he set Gonzalez on his way by gifting the Chilean a break in game four with an over-long two-handed backhand.

Moya improved in the second, missing a couple of break-point chances but going on to take the tiebreak with little trouble.

He took a 5-2 lead in the third as Gonzalez, going for his shots throughout, put an attempted forehand winner into the net.

The Chilean somehow recovered to force a tiebreak but he was now struggling for accuracy and Moya grabbed two early breaks to set up his win.

"It was one of the most exciting matches I've played," said Moya, who sank to his knees in joy and relief after hitting the winning volley.

Ferrero followed him out on court and was quickly on his way to what looked certain to be a much more straightforward win as he eased into a set and 5-4 lead.

Nieminen hit back to force a tie-break, though, and even saved a match-point before taking it 8-6.

BREAK DOWN

Ferrero went a break down at 2-3 in the final set but Nieminen could not consolidate his advantage and the Spaniard grew in strength to clinch the win.

"I should have won in that second set," Ferrero said. "The third set was hard but I never thought it was lost."

While Moya and Ferrero both needed every ounce of their strength and experience, Sebastien Grosjean was granted an easier passage through to the third round.

The Frenchman was leading Xavier Malisse 5-1 on number one court when the Belgian was forced to retire because of injury.

In first-round games played on Tuesday, Jan-Michael Gambill set up an all-American clash with number two seed Andre Agassi thanks to a 7-6, 6-3 win over Andrei Pavel of Romania, while Nicolas Lapentti came back from 5-2 down in the first set to beat Michel Kratochvil 7-6, 6-1.