The ATP Mumbai Open lost one of its biggest attractions when former world No 1 Marat Safin [Images] pulled out of the event due to a wrist injury on Thursday.

Tournament director Gaurav Natekar confirmed that the Russian will not be playing the tournament, which will be held at the Cricket Club of India from September 24 to 30.

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"We received the information this morning," said the former National champion. "But it's not just Mumbai; he has also pulled out from Tokyo (ATP)."

The injury also forced Safin out of Russia's [Images] Davis Cup tie next weekend, when they take on Germany [Images] in the semi-finals, in Moscow [Images].

The two-time Grand Slam champion is using the time out from tennis to scale the world's sixth-highest mountain.

According to reports, Safin is part of an eight-member Russian expedition that is due to leave Nepal on Friday to climb Cho Oyu, the 8,201-metre (26,906 ft) mountain on the Nepal-Tibet border.

"Hopefully, to his many victories in tennis, Marat will add one more victory on the sixth highest mountain in the world," expedition leader Alexander Abramov was quoted as saying on a mountaineering web site.

After Safin's withdrawal, former Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt [Images] and spunky Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis will shoulder the event's popularity.

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