Russia's Marat Safin serves to Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty during their third round match of the Cincinnati Masters tennis tournament in Cincinnati August 18, 2005. Safin won 6-0 6-3. (Reuters)

Defending champion Marat Safin will miss next month's China Open after missing the entry deadline, organizers said on Thursday.

French Open winner Rafael Nadal heads a quality field at the $1.1 million tournament in Beijing.

Fellow Spaniards Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero will also appear along with Argentine Guillermo Coria. The men's event takes place from September 12 to 19, immediately after the U.S. Open.

The women's tournament begins the week after and involves five of the world's top 10 players.

World number one Lindsay Davenport, Russians Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova, as well as Serena and Venus Williams are all scheduled to take part.

Serena won the inaugural tournament last year.

(Agencies)