No Safin for Mumbai

NEW DELHI: Marat Safin’s left wrist stress fracture has not healed and he will not be able to come to the Kingfisher Open in Mumbai.

“He went through an MRI a couple of days ago and his agent has now finally conveyed the decision to us,” said tournament director Gaurav Natekar.

“Safin has also pulled out of the Tokyo and Moscow events as well as the Davis Cup,” added Natekar.

When asked if being part of an expedition to climb a peak in Nepal was the real reason for the temperamental Russian to back out, Natekar said: “He would never miss his home event and the Davis Cup unless it was something really serious.”

The tournament is now hunting for another face to hawk up its star value.

“Another top-30 player is expected to come in for Safin and we are looking to finalise on that,” the former India player added.

The tournament still has some time on its hands as the marquee stars only begin to grace the court from Wednesday onwards.

Meanwhile, those looking to run into Safin in the promos at VT, Gateway of India and Marine Drive still have Marcos Baghdatis, Lleyton Hewitt and a host of others to look out for.