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| | Saturday, 25 May, 2002, 15:27 GMT 16:27 UK Safin injured as Argentina take Cup Jose Acasuso (left) and Guillermo Canas celebrate A back injury forced Russia's Marat Safin to retire from the World Team Cup final as Argentina beat Russia for the title on Saturday. Safin, facing Jose Acasuso, received treatment after losing his serve to fall behind 2-0 in the third set, and retired down 3-0, 40-0 to give Acasuso a 2-6, 6-3, 3-0 win.
The injury, which Safin has been told is a trapped nerve in his back, could now ruin his chances of winning the French Open, which begins on Monday. "They think it's a nerve between the ribs which is irritated and I am going now to the hospital to check it," said Safin, seeded second in Paris. "I have still two days to recover and we'll see if I can play. "Starting from the second set I began to feel more pain and then in the third set I couldn't even serve the second serve." The Russian had made a bright start, breaking to lead 3-1 and again for the set, but he was immediately in trouble in the second set. He dropped his serve to love in the opening game, smashing his racquet as he fell behind 40-0, and the agile Argentine grew in confidence.
Although there were another five breaks of serve in the set, Acasuso always looked the better player as Safin began to make a succession of unforced errors. "I wasn't nervous," said Acasuso of his slow start. "But Safin played very good tennis at the beginning and I felt a little bit overpowered. "In the second set I played better and felt I had a chance. "I went more for my shots and felt very solid and didn't have any weaknesses. Safin couldn't find a weak spot and I felt comfortable playing him." Safin's back problem was no secret in the locker room after he had received treatment while playing Martin Lee on Friday. Guillermo Canas then followed up with an easy 6-4 6-2 win over Yevgeny Kafelnikov to secure Argentina's first victory in the competition since 1980. To add insult to injury, Kafelnikov and Andrei Cherkasov were beaten in straight sets 6-4 6-1 by Lucas Arnold and Gaston Etlis in the doubles to complete a 3-0 whitewash. The win earned the team $480,000, while the Russians, who lost in the final for the third straight year, received $300,000. Results: Jose Acasuso beat Marat Safin 2-6 6-3 3-0 (Safin withdrew injured) | |
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