Marat Safin in doubt for Australian Open
World number two Marat Safin is in doubt for next week's Australian Open after
suffering a recurrence of an elbow
injury.
The U.S. Open champion was clearly in
discomfort during his first-round 6-2 6-1
loss to Frenchman Nicolas Escude at the
Colonial Classic exhibition event.
The 20-year-old Russian said it was recurrence of the same
injury that forced him to miss a month's tennis in 1999 and
may force him to miss the first grand slam of the year.
"It is the same feeling all over again," Safin said.
"I think I have broken a capsule in my elbow, so it makes it
very difficult to serve. If you cannot serve, you cannot play
tennis properly.
"I will see a doctor and decide whether I can carry on playing
here and then decide about the Australian Open.
"I will try and play, but I know other players have had to have
operations to cure this injury.
"The last thing I want is to go through that and be off the
Tour for six months with this injury. I want to be healthy, so it
will be better to do what it takes to recover from the injury
now.
"If the medical advice says I can continue, I will play, but if
the doctors advise me to stop and rest, I will have to do that.
At the moment, I am afraid of making it worse."
Safin shot to prominence with his victory at Flushing
Meadows in September, and was just 15 points behind
Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten in the race to finish last season as
the world number one.
The Australian Open, where Safin was expected to be
named as the second seed, begins in Melbourne on January
15.