Russia’s Safin reaches first quarterfinal at LA Tennis Open

Marat Safin, playing for the fourth time in three days, summoned enough energy to beat Ernests Gulbis 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the LA Tennis Open on Wednesday.

Safin, who played an exhibition match against Pete Sampras on Monday and beat Robby Ginepri the following night, also teamed with Igor Kunitsyn to win a first-round doubles match on Monday.

"It was different conditions," the 29-year-old Safin said after advancing to his third straight in the Los Angeles quarterfinal. "It was during the day, and it's completely different at night. The balls are flying much more so it's tough to really control them and it takes some time to get used to it. I was a little bit slow at the beginning of the match."

The win over Gulbis put the two-time Grand Slam champion into his first quarterfinal of the year and earned him at least a day off from singles play.

The grind is a big reason why Safin says he will retire at the end of this season.

"It's getting tougher and tougher to play these kinds of matches, to fight when you're struggling and not playing well," Safin said. "It's difficult to motivate yourself and take care of your body. You have to spend much more time in a gym and practicing. There are so many (other) things to do. I need some vacation, take half a year just to relax and realize that I'm not a tennis player anymore  and to understand that there is life afterwards."

"I need to relax. There has been so much stress throughout the years. There are no matches, there are no more match points, no more deuces, no more second serves. It's a different way of thinking and I need to take some time off to really understand it."

In the quarterfinals, Safin will meet two-time champion and top seed Tommy Haas, who defeated Jesse Levine 6-1, 6-3 in the final singles match Wednesday night.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals on Wednesday was John Isner, who overcame an injury late in the second-set tiebreaker to beat Marcos Baghdatis, 6-3, 7-6 (13-11). Qualifier Carsten Ball moved on with a 6-4, 1-0 victory over No. 3 seed Dmitry Tursunov, who was unable to continue in the second set due to an injury to his left ankle.

The 6-foot-9 Isner also twisted his left ankle and collapsed on the court after trying to reverse direction on a forehand that gave Baghdatis an 11-10 lead in the tiebreaker.

Baghdatis was the first to reach Isner and hovered over him until a trainer arrived. Isner got to his feet after several minutes, but was limping noticeably and unable to put much weight on the left ankle and foot while serving.

The injury seemed to affect Baghdatis more than Isner, though.

"He missed a second-serve return [to make it 11-all], something he hadn't done really all match, and I hit a forehand as hard as I could and closed my eyes and it went in, right off the line," said Isner, who won on his fifth match point when Baghdatis hit a backhand long. "I was extremely fortunate to get through that match."

Isner and Ball are scheduled to meet in Friday's quarterfinals. Isner was supposed to play doubles with Sam Querrey later Wednesday, but pulled out as a precaution. He will have Thursday off.

"It's huge," he said. "I can use that to recoup and see how it feels."

It will be the fourth quarterfinal of the year and the second in two weeks for Isner, and the first on the ATP Tour for Ball, an Australian who lives in nearby Newport Beach, California.