The Way Back Looks Slow but Sure for Russia’s Safin

His voice faded in and out and simply disappeared, the casualty of a fleeting cell-phone connection.

Marat Safin’s conference call last week was a lot like his career since he all but blasted Pete Sampras off the court in straight sets in the 2000 U.S. Open final. He finished the season by winning three more tournaments but has flickered on and off since.

He even went away for a time because of an injured back. It was painful to watch a limited Safin maneuver on court in March at Indian Wells. He was, perhaps, at 30% of his capability. The young Russian was lost without a potent serve.

Months later, 30% has turned into 60%, he says. Whether 60% will turn into 100% will largely be determined in the next four weeks, beginning today with the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA’s Los Angeles Tennis Center. Safin is the No. 2-seeded player behind Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil.

“I’m completely recovered,” Safin said. “Now the problem is I don’t have enough confidence to play big matches, but I’m looking forward. I think it’s going to come back, but I think it’s a little too late for this year, so I hope everything will be OK for next year.”

It might sound as though he has written off the U.S. Open, but that isn’t accurate.

He is using Los Angeles, Montreal, Cincinnati and Indianapolis as the foundation for New York. His coach, Mats Wilander, will join him at the later stops.

“I’ll be tough,” Safin said. “I will fight like a dog. I will jump. I will dive. I will do everything possible to win the tournament.”

This is the 75th L.A. event, and a first-rate field has been assembled in honor of the milestone. The top players, in order of seeding, are Kuerten, Safin, 1998 champion Andre Agassi, 1999 champion Sampras, 2000 finalist Jan-Michael Gambill, Carlos Moya, Magnus Norman and Tommy Haas.

Also included are last year’s champion, Michael Chang, Greg Rusedski and fast-rising Andy Roddick and Taylor Dent.

Kuerten and Agassi are in one half of the draw, Sampras and Safin in the other.

It would appear that the stellar field offers the often star-crossed tournament some protection. Last year, it seemed as though a dark cloud hovered over UCLA with injuries and withdrawals occurring almost daily. Even the final between Chang and Gambill was cut short when Gambill came up limping.

The deep field has created a couple of intriguing first-round matches. Dent, 20, faces Moya in the first round. Roddick, 18, normally would be seeded in this sort of event but will play Safin in the first round. With two titles in 2001, both on clay, Roddick has two more than Safin this year.

“Obviously, I’ve been in better draws,” Roddick said. “I kind of like playing the big guys. But maybe not this soon. I have a great deal of respect for him, of course, and he probably is a better player than I am now. But hopefully I can do well, and maybe I can beat him.”

Replacements Update

Bob and Mike Bryan: Won their third ATP doubles title this year, taking the championship at Newport, R.I., last Sunday. Their opponents in the final? Close friends and fellow band members, Glenn Weiner and Andre Sa. The identical twins have a band called The Bryan Bros., and Weiner and Sa are in the group.

Mardy Fish: Lost to Jim Thomas in second round of qualifying at the UCLA tournament.

Robby Ginepri and Rajeev Ram: Played each other in the first round of UCLA qualifying. Ginepri beat Ram, 6-3, 6-2, and went on to win in the final round of qualifying against Wayne Black.

James Blake: Will face Agassi in the first round, after reaching semifinals at Newport, R.I.

Taylor Dent: Will play sixth-seeded Moya, who on Sunday won at Croatia, in the first round.

Phillip King: Lost in qualifying at the Aptos, Calif., challenger event but got in as a lucky loser and reached the quarterfinals.

Michael Russell: Lost last week in the first round at Stuttgart, Germany, on clay to Tommy Robredo of Spain. This week, entered in clay-court event at Sopot, Poland.

Brian Baker: Lost in the fourth round of the USTA boys’ 18-and-under National Clay Court tournament at Louisville, Ky.