Top three in separate bids for year's first tennis titles

Ossian Shine

The top three tennis players in the world avoid each other this week as they bid for their first titles of 2001.

Number one Marat Safin faces the toughest test as he heads the draw at the $750,000 world indoor tournament at Rotterdam.

Second-ranked Gustavo Kuerten is in more comfortable territory in Buenos Aires.

Kuerten, who won the 2000 Tennis Masters Cup to clinch the inaugural ATP Champions race and crown himself the first year-end South American world number one, is top seed at the $625,000 clay court event.

With a knee injury leaving defending champion Magnus Larsson unable to defend his title, world number three Pete Sampras heads a talented entry at the Kroger St Jude tournament in Memphis, Tennessee.

Top seed Safin certainly faces a rough ride if he is to gain anything from Rotterdam.

The erratic Russian has not played a tournament since he lost in the Milan quarter-finals against Britain's Greg Rusedski two weeks ago and has been handed a difficult draw.

Safin opens against dangerous Belarussian Max Mirnyi, with a potential second round against French holder Cedric Pioline.

In the bottom half of the draw lurks Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Kafelnikov overtook Australia's Lleyton Hewitt into the world number six spot by winning in Marseille on Sunday.

BIRTHDAY

The victory over Marseille-born Sebastien Grosjean was achieved on his 27th birthday.

The title, his 23rd, was his first since winning in Moscow in October 2000 and Kafelnikov, champion in Rotterdam in 1999, is in no mood to ease up now.

In Safin's half of the draw is another threat in British fourth seed Tim Henman, also coming into Rotterdam on the back of a triumph.

Copenhagen champion Henman boasts a strong record in Rotterdam, having reached the final for the last two years.

The situation looks far more clear cut for baseliner Kuerten in the new ATP Tour event in Buenos Aires, but he will have to keep his wits about him.

On Kuerten's side of the draw are Spanish sixth seed Francisco Clavet, finalist this year at Auckland, Chilean third seed Marcelo Rios, whose win at Doha crowned him the first leader of year 2001's ATP Champions Race, and Clavet's compatriot, fifth seed Fernando Vicente, this year's winner at Bogota.

The bottom half of the draw includes Argentine second seed Franco Squillari, also seeking his first title of the year.

The Kroger St Jude tournament welcomes Australian second seed Mark Philippoussis to his first tournament of the year.

The number 11 in last year's inaugural ATP Champions Race returns to action after left-knee surgery.

He could face a potential quarter-final against seventh seed Rusedski.

Sampras's side of the draw looks fairly hazard-free. Fourth seed Nicolas Lapentti could be the American's semifinal opponent, but the Ecuadorian baseliner should pose no real difficulty on the Memphis hard courts.