Safin strolls past Sidorenko to reach second round
PARIS (Reuters) - Russian Marat Safin eased into the second round of the French Open with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over French wildcard Alexandre Sidorenko on Sunday.
Former world number one Safin, playing at Roland Garros for the last time before retiring at the end of the year, will next face either France's Josselin Ouanna or Marcel Granollers of Spain.
The 20th seed, who owns two grand slam titles but has never triumphed at the French Open, easily pocketed the first two sets but Sidorenko rebelled in the third.
The 21-year-old Frenchman, who has yet to win a singles match on the main tour, went 4-1 up before Safin stepped up a gear. The Russian won the remaining five games and clinched victory on his first match point.
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
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