Marat Safin threw, kicked and cursed his racket, but conceded later the problem was operator error. Bedeviled by his game just two months after winning the Australian Open, the volatile Russian lost, 7-6 (7-6), 6-1, to Dominik Hrbaty in the third round of the Nasdaq-100 Open yesterday in Key Biscayne, Fla.
Safin, ranked fourth, became progressively more discouraged as his match progressed. He made no move to return Hrbaty's final shot, an ace down the middle.
Serena Williams gives chase while returning a shot during a 6-3, 6-3 win over 17-year-old Israeli qualifier Shahar Peer.
(Steve Mitchell -- AP)
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"When I'm playing bad, I'm playing really bad," Safin said. "There's nothing I can do. Serve doesn't work. Backhand doesn't go the way it should be. And of course the forehand struggles. With this kind of game, it's difficult to beat anybody."
Meantime, three-time defending champion Serena Williams needed 90 minutes to beat 17-year-old Israeli qualifier Shahar Peer, 6-3, 6-3. The scrappy Peer delighted the stadium crowd by repeatedly chasing down shots.
On a humid afternoon with 85-degree temperatures, the other top women moved quickly into the fourth round. Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, No. 2 Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne won in straight sets.
• CYCLING: Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong returned to cycling, finishing in the pack at the Brabant Arrow race in Alsemberg, Belgium.
Armstrong, who pulled out of the Paris-Nice event earlier this month with a sore throat, said this race was used to prepare him for bigger competitions later -- including his run for another Tour de France victory in July.
Spanish world champion Oscar Freire won the 123-mile event in 4 hours 38 minutes 56 seconds. Marc Lotz of the Netherlands was second and Belgium's Axel Merckx was third.
• SOCCER: Arsenal will make a move for Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham if it can't sign Shaun Wright-Phillips from Manchester City, the Mail said, citing unidentified sources.
Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger fears he'll lose out on Wright-Phillips to Chelsea and considers Beckham a viable alternative, the Mail said. Wenger would only sign Beckham, England's captain, if he takes a pay cut, the newspaper reported.
• OLYMPICS: The International Equestrian Federation recommended that Irish show jumper Cian O'Connor lose his Olympic gold medal because his horse tested positive for banned substances.
The final decision to strip O'Connor of his medal lies with the International Olympic Committee. The IOC usually follows the recommendations of individual sports' governing bodies.
O'Connor, who became a national hero after riding Waterford Crystal to Ireland's only medal at the Athens Games, failed to defend himself against charges that his victory was tainted because his horse tested positive.
FEI also ordered O'Connor to serve a three-month suspension starting at the end of March.
• OBITUARY: Bob Casey, the only public-address announcer in the history of the Minnesota Twins, died early yesterday, his family said. He was 79.
Casey, who had been battling liver cancer and pneumonia, worked 44 seasons and more than 3,000 games for the Twins.
-- From News Services
