Safin beats Isner in opening round play

Former No. 1 Marat Safin continued his slow climb back toward the top of the rankings with a 6-3, 6-4 win over John Isner in the first round of the Countrywide Classic on Tuesday afternoon. The 6-foot-9 Isner served 11 aces, seven of those in the second set, but was broken twice by the mercurial Russian. Safin had nine aces and faced only one break point, at 30-40 after a double-fault in the final game of the match. Safin, 28, the No. (link)