Safin beats Johansson to reach quarters

Defending champion Marat Safin beat 14th seed Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-2 2-6 6-4 7-6 on Monday night to reach the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open.

The third-seeded Russian took five of the last six points of the tiebreak to advance.

He broke Johansson at 2-2, then served an ace of 133 miles per hour, then made it 5-2 by backhanding a lob just above the Swede's reach after setting him up with a pretty drop shot.

Johansson, serving, picked up one more point but then double-faulted, setting up triple match point. Safin converted immediately.

Safin, 21, won a tour-best seven titles last year but has not won a title since.