Marat Safin’s latest attempt to conquer Wimbledon ended in bitter disappointment and frustration on Friday when he was knocked out in the third round by Spanish serve-and-volleyer Felciano Lopez.
The fifth-seeded Russian, bidding to win a third Grand Slam tournament on his least-preferred surface, meekly surrendered the Court One tie to the man who beat him at the Olympics last year losing 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Lopez, the 26th seed, now faces either Croatia’s 10th seed Mario Ancic or French teenager Gael Monfils for a place in the quarter-finals while Safin, the reigning Australian Open champion will concentrate his efforts on the final Grand Slam of the season, the US Open.
Safin (25) came into the tournament claiming to have discovered a liking for grass after finishing runner-up to Roger Federer in Halle two weeks ago.
But after convincing displays in the first two rounds, where he saw off Paradorn Srichaphan and 2003 finalist Mark Philippoussis, Safin looked a forlorn soul as he joined fellow draw cards Tim Henman and Rafael Nadal on the sidelines here.
He was broken in the third game of the opening set and then collected a warning for ball abuse in the eighth for launching the ball out of the stadium.
Lopez fought off two break points in the ninth game before taking the first set 6-4 after 32 minutes.
Safin, carrying a serious knee injury, was showing off some smooth volleying at the net but not often enough as Lopez played a steady, solid game.
The 23-year-old Spaniard then clinched the second set tiebreak with a sweet drop volley and was in charge of the third set racing into a 4-2 lead.
A disconsolate Safin gave up the chase. Lopez set up three match points in the ninth game and clinched the tie with his 14th ace after just one hour and 49 minutes on court.-Sapa-AFP