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Australian Open timing comes under fire
(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2006-01-13 06:14

SYDNEY: The timing of the Australian Open came under fire from leading players on Wednesday after more big drawcards pulled out of the first grand slam of the year.

marat safin
Marat Safin
The 2005 champion Marat Safin joined the mounting absentee list when he announced he was not defending his title, just a day after French Open champion Rafael Nadal told organizers he would not be playing in Melbourne.

Safin succumbed to the long-term knee injury that has troubled him since Wimbledon while Nadal withdrew because of a foot problem that has plagued him since the end of last year.

"I don't think it takes a brain surgeon to figure out why a lot of people are getting hurt," American Andy Roddick told reporters in Melbourne.

"I believe it's in the best interests of the game for them to come up with an off-season to give us time to recover. You can't play if your body won't allow you. A solution needs to be found."

Safin is the first men's champion not to defend his Australian Open title since Andre Agassi pulled out of the 2002 tournament with a wrist problem.

Agassi, a staunch supporter of the Australian Open when many other top players failed to make the trip Down Under, has also withdrawn from this year's event because of an ankle injury.

Greg Rusedski and Alicia Molik have also pulled out of the Open, starting in Melbourne next week, while several other top players are in doubt.

Safin's sister, Dinara Safina, former world No 1 Carlos Moya, Sweden's 2002 Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson and Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova all retired from this week's Sydney International because of injuries.

It is not unusual for top players to miss the Australian Open through injuries suffered the previous season but the latest drop-outs have renewed calls to move the tournament to a later date or finish the season earlier.

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, regarded as one of the fittest men on the professional circuit, agreed with Roddick that the players need a break.
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