Safin beaten in upset at St. Petersburg Open

Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan advanced to his first career quarterfinal Thursday, beating eighth-seeded Marat Safin 6-4, 6-2 at the St. Petersburg Open.

Safin, the 31st-ranked Russian who has twice won the tournament, had trouble on his serve, winning only 15 of 51 returned points.

The 150th-ranked Golubev, who reached the second round of the U.S. Open in September, broke Safin in the fifth game of the first set but double-faulted three times in the next game to drop serve and stay level at 3-3.

In the ninth game, Safin saved three break points with aces but was broken on the third deuce and Golubev served for the set.

"The second …