Russian favorites lose at Moscow tennis

MOSCOW, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Fellow Russians Igor Andreev and Mikhail Youzhny were among Wednesday's men's losers at the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament at Moscow.

Andreev, the tournament's second seed, lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, while Youzhny lost, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), against fellow Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili.

Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky was beaten, 6-3, 6-2, by 2002 champion and Frechman Paul-Henri Mathieu; and France's Fabrice Santoro downed Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin, 6-2, 6-4.

Mathieu was a runner-up at last week's Open de Moselle tournament in Metz, France.

Other winners on Wednesday were Russia's Igor Kunitsyn and Germany's Mischa Zverev.

On Thursday, top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko faces Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez; No. 7 seed Marat Safin of Russia plays Israeli Dudi Sela; Safin, a former world No. 1, meets France's Julien Benneteau and American Robby Ginepri plays Kunitsyn.

Sunday's Kremlin Cup men's titlist will take home a $171,000 winner's check.