Safin Goes Wild

Bolstered by his burst into his first career Wimbledon semifinal last week, Marat Safin has been granted wild cards into the main draws of this summer's Masters Series events in Toronto and Cincinnati.

Safin, dismissing third-seeded Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-2 in a second-round Wimbledon victory, raised his ranking 35 spots from No. 75 at the start of the fortnight to its current No. 40.

The former World No. 1 beat Harel Levy to win the Rogers Cup in Toronto in his 2000 tournament debut. Since that triumph, Safin has played the Canadian Masters Series event five times, falling in the first or second round in four of those five appearances (he was a quarterfinalist in 2002).

A two-time Cincinnati quarterfinalist, Safin has failed to surpass the opening round in five of eight career Cincinnati appearances.

A revitalized Safin swept Spain's Marc Lopez, 7-6(6), 7-5, today in the opening round of the Catella Swedish Open in Bastad. He will face Potito Starace next. Starace squeezed past fifth-seeded Spaniard Carlos Moya, 6-7(4), 7-6(8), 6-4 today.

Safin, who is scheduled to play doubles at the event with Tomas Berdych, has won six of his last seven matches.

"Things happen, but I would prefer to have a career like Federer but I have to deal with my life, my injuries and I am tired of doing a comeback each year," Safin told the Swedish media. "It’s annoying — but it is my life for good and worse and I have been fortune to be able to enjoy it anyway."

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