General / Editor / 09 May 2007 /

is through to the second round of the Rome Masters and showing signs of a return to form.

The Russian ace crashed out at the first-round stage in Barcelona last week and started slowly in his first round tie in the Italian capital.

But the former world number one showed his quality to eventually dispose of American qualifier Amer Delic 2-6 6-3 6-4.
Speaking after the match, Safin said: "He started pretty well and was hitting unbelievable winners on the lines - I couldn't get into the game.

"But then I tried to make him run and play more. It was just a matter of time."
Safin's best finish on Tour this season came in Las Vegas, when the 27-year-old reached the semi-finals before losing to Lleyton Hewitt.

The Moscow-born star will now play fellow countryman Nikolay Davydenko in the next round, with Betfair punters favouring world number four Davydenko. Safin is trading at 2.18 with Davydenko available at 1.83.

Meanwhile, Safin can be backed at 150 to win his 16th Tour title this week - with Betfair customers expecting another Nadal v Federer final.

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