Safin works hard as others cruise

While others at the US Open had just another day at the office, Marat Safin was forced to put in some overtime.

Safin, the men’s second seed, outlasted former top-10 player Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in a marathon afternoon first-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Conversely, defending champions Venus Williams and Lleyton Hewitt recorded easy straight-sets victories.

Williams demolished Croatian qualifier Mirjana Lucic 6-0 6-0 and world number one Hewitt dispatched Nicolas Coutelot of France 6-2 6-3 6-3.

Coming on the heels of the lengthy Safin-Kiefer clash, Williams finished off Lucic in a tidy 50 minutes, including a timeout for a trainer to tend to Lucic’s blistered feet.

Third seed Jennifer Capriati matched the performance of Williams in the evening session as she sailed past fellow American Bethanie Mattek 6-0 6-0.

In other easy women’s first-round matches, sixth seed and two-time winner Monica Seles of the United States cruised past Zsofia Gubacsi of Hungary 6-3 6-3; number seven seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium thrashed Conchita Martinez Granados of Spain 6-1 6-0 in 42 minutes; 10th seed Amelie Mauresmo of France whipped Czech qualifier Iveta Benesova 6-3 6-2; and number 14 Chanda Rubin of the United States crushed countrywoman Jill Craybas 6-1 6-3.

In a pair of evening matches, number 11 Andy Roddick of the United States defeated Dutchman Martin Verkerk 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 6-4, and seventh seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain got past Wayne Arthurs of Australia 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 7-5.

Both Safin and Kiefer suffered cramping during the four-hour 31-minute battle, with the 25-year-old German feeling the worst of it.

Despite enduring tremendous pain, Kiefer rallied from a break down twice in the fifth set, saving two match points to force a deciding tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker, Kiefer took a 3-2 lead with a crosscourt backhand winner in the corner before smacking two forehands into the net.

After Safin hit a smash to go up 5-3, Kiefer netted a forehand before cramps again sent him down on the court. Safin immediately called for the trainer.

Kiefer managed to get up, with Safin graciously indicating that he should take his time. Kiefer saved a third match point with a service winner but dumped another forehand into the net to end his valiant fight.

“I thought it was the end (at 3-2), because I didn’t play well at all,” said Safin, who performed his usual on-court repertoire of broken rackets, screams and shoulder slumps.

“In the fifth set, I served very, very badly. In the tiebreak, I was really scared because I didn’t want to lose. I was really choking.

“But I tried just to make him run because he was cramping. Just hanging there, because maybe something will happen to him and he will retire or he will miss by himself, which he did.

“He made a few unforced errors in the tiebreak, a few forehands, and that’s it.”

With a pair of wheelchairs waiting to take the possibly dehydrated players off the court, Safin and Kiefer received a standing ovation from the crowd.

“I had never had cramps before, I just saw on TV when somebody was cramping, but now it happened to me also. It’s a very bad feeling,” said Kiefer, who was once ranked as high as number four before suffering injuries.

“I wanted to continue, I wanted to finish it.”

The players combined for 23 unforced errors, with Kiefer committing 12, equalling his total aces. Safin fired 15 aces and had 66 winners.

Safin has some strong results this season but is still seeking his first title. He reached the final of the Australian Open but was surprised by Thomas Johansson. The mercurial Russian put forth another disappointing effort after reaching the semi-finals at the French Open, losing to Juan Carlos Ferrero.

But Safin thrives in the electric atmosphere of the US Open.

He advanced to the fourth round in his New York debut in 1998 and captured the crown two years later. Last season, the Moscow native reached the semi-finals.

Kiefer, one of seven former US Open boys’ singles champions in the draw, reached a career-high number four ranking in January 2000.

While Safin and Kiefer were wearing each other down, Williams and Lucic were waiting in the wings.

“It was a long wait, but I’m used to waiting,” Williams said. “I’m glad I wasn’t the third match. At least I was the second match.

“I just read the paper. It’s hard to find a quiet place, a comfortable place to sit. I ended up sitting in the training room because they had a nice seat in there.”

Williams is looking to become the first woman to win three straight titles since Chris Evert reigned from 1975-1978. She entered the final Grand Slam of the year having won three straight hardcourt tournaments.

The 22-year-old American lost her Wimbledon crown when she fell to younger sister Serena in the championship match.

Top-seeded Serena also defeated Venus in the French Open final in June. The two have battled in the title match at three of the last four Grand Slam events.

Another former champion reached the second round as number nine seed Martina Hingis of Switzerland posted a 6-3 5-7 6-4 victory over American Marissa Irvin.

Hingis is on the comeback trail after missing two months due to ankle surgery.

Men’s ninth seed Carlos Moya of Spain and number 24 Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands advanced on the men’s side.

Schalken was losing to 1998 runner-up Mark Philippoussis 7-6 (7-1)  6-4 3-6 5-3 when the big Australian was forced to retire with an injury to the same knee on which he has already had multiple surgical procedures.

Last year, Hewitt became the second youngest US Open champion in the open era (1968-present) with his rout of Pete Sampras in the final.

He is trying to match fellow Australian Patrick Rafter’s feat of consecutive tournament victories.

The feisty Australian has proved to be a worthy number one, tying for the ATP Tour lead with four titles, including his first Wimbledon crown.

“It’s always nice, I’ve found, to come back to a place that you’ve played well in the past, whether it’s a small tournament or a big tournament,” Hewitt said.

“This place changed my life for so many reasons, this time last year. This is where I got my big breakthrough. It’s an extra special feeling to come back here.”