Tennis: Safin suffers Spanish mauling at Wimbledon

LONDON - Brooding Russian Marat Safin skulked off Court One, his Wimbledon dreams shredded by a Spanish left hander who serves and volleys.

A rare species back home where clay is king, 26th seed Feliciano Lopez produced stunning grasscourt tennis to win 6-4 7-6 6-3 in less than two hours.

It all proved too much for the combustible Safin who angrily thrashed one ball clean out of the arena after missing two break points in the first set.

"I couldn't really find my game against him today... what do you want me to do? I cannot play my best tennis every day," said Safin, who was troubled by a nagging left knee injury.

There were no hiccups for the men's and women's third seeds.

Lleyton Hewitt scurried through. The 2002 champion edged out unseeded American Justin Gimelstob 7-6 6-4 7-5 in an entertaining Centre Court tussle.

"He spent more time on the ground than he did standing up, didn't he?" Hewitt remarked about Gimelstob's propensity for launching himself into spectacular dives.

Amelie Mauresmo continued her impressive progress, waltzing into the the fourth round with a 6-0 6-2 victory over American Shenay Perry.

Second seed Andy Roddick was a relieved man.

The American finished off Daniele Bracciali 7-5 6-3 6-7 4-6 6-3 in a bad-tempered match spanning two days, shortly before the heavens opened.

Leading by two sets to one overnight, an agitated Roddick dropped the fourth set before regaining his composure to sweep the Italian lucky loser aside.

"I think it was big to get through. It would have been a devastating loss," said Roddick, who upset Bracciali by marching off court with the light fading.

As the predicted storm clouds loomed around the All England Club another moody Russian, Anastasia Myskina, came through a crackling third-round thriller against Jelena Jankovic.

The feisty 2004 French Open champion won the first set in 19 minutes, squandered three match points in the second and then clawed back a 5-1 deficit in third.

With the rallies growing ever more intense and both players stretching every sinew, Myskina came through the helter skelter epic 6-0 5-7 10-8, the final set lasting 86 minutes.

The ninth seeded Myskina plays compatriot Elena Dementieva who made light of a sore shoulder to beat Mashona Washington 7-5 6-1 and set up a repetition of last year's French Open final.

The small army of Russians in action also included US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, the powerful fifth seed getting a fright against 16-year-old Czech Nicole Vaidisova before scraping through 7-5 6-7 6-2.

Elena Likhovtseva came from behind to beat Italian Silvia Farina Elia 5-7 6-4 6-4 and will now play Mauresmo.

Mauresmo, a semi-finalist on her last two appearances but still waiting for a grand slam title, has dropped just 11 games so far and is beginning to fancy her chances.

"It gives me a lot of confidence to play like this," she said. "I feel my game is great on this surface and we'll see where it takes me."

Safin's firepower had been too hot for Mark Philippoussis in the previous round. Against Lopez he ran out of weapons long before the end of a surprisingly one-sided contest.

After dominating the first set the 23-year-old Lopez secured the second set tie tiebreak 7-4 with a masterful angled volley that had even Safin nodding his head in appreciation.

The third set was a formality.

Lopez, who has equalled his best ever showing at Wimbledon, will face stiffer resistance in the fourth round against last year's beaten semi-finalist Mario Ancic.

The 21-year-old Croat obliterated French teenager Gael Monfils 6-3 6-3 6-1.

Another of the draw's dangerous floaters was removed, however, when Chile's Fernando Gonzalez banged down 21 aces to upset lofty 11th seed Joachim Johansson of Sweden 6-4 6-4 6-2.

After four days of glorious sunshine, play was cut short by rain. The forecast was for fine weather this weekend, however.

- REUTERS