TENNIS in DEPTH.

Dinara Safina bowed out at the first round of the US Open after losing in straight sets to Daniela Hantuchova.

Safina, who was top seed here last year, has been plagued by a back injury which has forced her to miss almost three months of the 2010 season – including Wimbledon – and is currently ranked 50th in the world.

The struggling Russian fought hard but her 24th seeded opponent from Slovakia managed to progress with a 6-3 6-4 victory at Flushing Meadows.

She will now meet Vania King, who came through her all-American clash against Christina McHale.

Meanwhile another former world number one looking to climb back up the rankings, Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic, enjoyed a 6-3 6-2 win over Ekaterina Makarova.

The 22-year-old topped the rankings heading into this event in 2008 having won the French Open earlier that same year, but is now ranked 40 following a dramatic slump in form.

Ivanovic will now face China’s Jie Zheng in the next round after the 21st seed overcame Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 7-6 (7-0) 7-6 (7-1).

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