Kicking and Screaming, Safin Is Eliminated Early

Marat Safin threw, kicked and cursed his racket, then later conceded the problem was operator error.

Bedeviled by his game only two months after winning the Australian Open, the volatile Russian lost to Dominik Hrbaty, 7-6 (6), 6-1, Sunday in the third round of the Nasdaq-100 Open at 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.

“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.”

Safin committed 33 unforced errors and hit only 11 winners. He’s the only player to beat Roger Federer in the last seven months, but since earning his second Grand Slam title in January, Safin has played three tournaments and failed to put together back-to-back victories at any of them.

He’s accustomed to spring swoons, and at Key Biscayne his career record is 6-7.

“Normally this month I never play well,” he said. “So for me it’s nothing new.”

Late March usually brings out the best in three-time defending champion Serena Williams, but she needed 90 minutes to beat 17-year-old Israeli qualifier Shahar Peer, 6-3, 6-3.

The other top women moved quickly into the fourth round. Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, No. 2 Maria Sharapova, No. 8 Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne won in straight sets.

No. 13 Ivan Ljubicic, a hero in Croatia’s Davis Cup victory over the United States three weeks ago, edged Vince Spadea, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3).

Former No. 1-ranked Juan Carlos Ferrero reached the fourth round by defeating Igor Andreev, 6-4, 6-3.

The No. 19-seeded Henin-Hardenne, playing in her first tournament since the U.S. Open because of a virus and knee injury, beat Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-3, 6-2.

Mauresmo defeated Anna Smashnova, 6-2, 6-1, and Sharapova beat Marissa Irvin, 6-2, 6-0. Three-time champion Venus Williams beat Fabiola Zuluaga, 6-2, 6-0, and Clijsters won her 10th match in a row, defeating No. 12 Nathalie Dechy, 6-0, 6-2.

No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova, the U.S. Open champion, and No. 4 Elena Dementieva also advanced in straight sets. No. 11 Patty Schnyder lost to qualifier Catalina Castano, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.

Safin’s elimination left the tournament without three of the top four players in the men’s rankings. No. 2 Lleyton Hewitt withdrew beforehand because of a toe injury and Andy Roddick retired from his opening match because of a sprained wrist.

Safin fought a losing battle to keep his composure, burying his face in his hands after one error, and when Hrbaty took a 6-5 lead in the tiebreaker, slamming his racket to the hard court.

Two points later, he pushed a tentative backhand wide to lose the set, then booted the racket across the concrete.

Pro Hockey

The NHL filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that a players’ association policy that would penalize members who became replacements is coercive and in violation of their rights.

The league and the union have been unable to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, and the lockout that was imposed by the NHL in September forced the cancellation of the season.

If a new deal can’t be reached in time for next season, the NHL said it would explore using replacement players.

College Hockey

Senior forward Barry Tallackson scored at 4 minutes 31 seconds of overtime to send Minnesota (28-14-1) to its third Frozen Four in four years with a 2-1 victory over Cornell (27-5-3) in the NCAA West Regional at Minneapolis.

The Golden Gophers, who will play North Dakota on April 7 in the Frozen Four, won NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003.

In the Northeast Regional, Luke Fulghum scored the winning goal at 16:17 of the third period and Gabe Gauthier had a hat trick to lead defending national champion Denver (30-9-2) back to the Frozen Four with a 4-2 victory over New Hampshire (26-11-5). Denver will next play Colorado College.

Natalie Darwitz scored off a rebound with 1:08 left to give Minnesota (37-2-2) its second consecutive NCAA women’s hockey title, 4-3, over Harvard (26-8-3) at Durham, N.H.

Miscellany

Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong returned to cycling at Alsemberg, Belgium, finishing in the pack at the Brabant Arrow race.

World champion Oscar Freire of Spain won the 123-mile event in 4 hours 38 minutes 56 seconds. American George Hincapie finished sixth.

Armstrong will participate in the Paris-Camembert race Tuesday.

Armenian Vic Darchinyan (23-0, 18 knockouts) stopped South African Mzukisi Sikali (32-6) in the eighth round at Sydney, Australia, to retain the International Boxing Federation flyweight title.

The International Equestrian Federation recommended that Irish show jumper Cian O’Connor lose his Olympic gold medal because his horse, Waterford Crystal, tested positive for banned substances.

The final decision lies with the International Olympic Committee, which usually follows the recommendations of individual sports’ governing bodies.

FEI also ordered O’Connor to serve a three-month suspension starting at the end of the month.

The ruling would make silver medalist Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil the Olympic champion. U.S. rider Chris Kappler would move from bronze to silver, and fourth-place Marco Kutscher of Germany would get bronze.

Sweden beat the U.S., 10-4, to win the World Women’s Curling Championship at Paisley, Scotland. The U.S. had beaten Sweden on Saturday to reach the gold-medal match.