Safin lost to Davydenko in the final in 2006

Russia's Marat Safin defeated top seed and compatriot Nikolay Davydenko to advance to the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Safin, who retires next month, beat Davydenko, who claimed the Shanghai Masters on Sunday, 4-6 6-4 6-2.

Davydenko stayed in the running for a place in next month's ATP World Tour Finals in London despite the defeat.

Agnieszka Radwanska's hopes of reaching the season-ending WTA Championships ended when she lost to Maria Kirilenko.

The Pole was defeated 6-3 6-3 in round one by her Russian opponent, meaning Jelena Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva fought it out for the eighth and final spot in Doha.

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Serbian Jankovic grabbed the final spot on Thursday following Vera Zvonareva's defeat to Tsvetana Pironkova in the Russian capital.

Radwanska said: "I was trying because I was still in with a chance for Doha, but the surface is so slow here, you need to run a lot to win a point."

Seven of the world's top players opted to miss the tournament having already qualified for the women's season finale.

World number 10 Radwanska began badly, dropping serve in her first game against Kirilenko, 51 places below her in the world rankings, before calling for a trainer to treat her right thigh.

Her form continued to deteriorate as Kirilenko broke serve in the second game of the second set before securing her first win in five appearances in her hometown tournament.

Davydenko, who beat world number two Rafael Nadal in the final of the Shanghai Masters to climb to number six in the world, looked fatigued and jet-lagged following his long flight from China.

Former world number one Safin, cheered on by a lively Moscow crowd, played some inspired tennis to dismantle Davydenko in the deciding set.

"Actually I was a bit nervous facing Nikolay because he's been in such a great form lately but I served and returned well and capitalised on his mistakes," said Safin, who lost the 2006 final to Davydenko and who was a losing finalist last year.

"It seems that Nikolay had not yet recovered after his win at Shanghai. Now I have an opportunity to continue playing in front of my home crowd and I'll try to go as far as I can."

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