TENNIS: An ill-tempered Marat Safin was knocked out of the men's singles in the French Open by Spain's Tommy Robredo 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 4-6, 8-6 yesterday. The Australian Open champion Safin, who was warned for smashing his racket against a chair at 3-1 down in the third set, alternated brilliant winners and clumsy errors.
The third-seeded Russian twice fought back from a break down in the fifth set before dropping serve again with a double fault to hand Robredo a 7-6 lead. Fifteenth-seed Robredo served for the match and will next face Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, who beat last year's beaten finalist Guillermo Coria of Argentina 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2.
Earlier Robredo's compatriot Rafael Nadal continued with his his cavalier brand of tennis in his rain-interrupted carry-over match against Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean.
The 18-year-old, who was discomfited by the constant jeering and screaming of the crowd on Sunday night, regained his composure to sweep aside Grosjean's threat 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 and take his place against compatriot David Ferrer in the quarter-finals.
Nadal, who is positioned to meet the imperial Roger Federer in the semi-final if he wins his next match, was totally dominant yesterday as Grosjean struggled just to stay in touch.
The former Grand Slam champion John McEnroe has already declared that Nadal is the most impressive player he has seen since the teenage Boris Becker came through to win Wimbledon, his physical ability and enthusiasm around court to fight for every available point marking him out as a feared opponent.
Nadal won the first set on Sunday before dropping the second 3-6 when the crowd became hostile following a call by the umpire that favoured the Spaniard.
The Frenchman was not happy with the decision and the crowd tapped into his frustration by screaming and whistling as Nadal was serving.
But showing an unusual maturity, he stormed into yesterday's resumption, denying Grosjean even one game in the third set and taking the fourth very comfortably.
Nadal is not the first player to have suffered at the hands of the hugely partisan French crowd. Serena Williams was jeered and reduced to tears when she played French-speaking Justine Henin-Hardenne in 2003.
"I'm saying don't be stupid. Don't lose your focus. Get on with your job. You're winning. That's it," said Nadal.
