BARCELONA, Spain, April 21 (UPI) -- Last year's runner-up David Ferrer won and world No. 1 Marat Safin lost Tuesday in the first round of the $2.6 million Barcelona Open.
The fourth-seeded Spaniard beat Kazakhstani Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Russian Igor Andreev defeated Spaniard Alberto Martin 6-2, 6-2.
Safin, the Russian who was the 2000 Barcelona champ, lost to Argentine Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-1. Safin, a two-time major champion, announced months ago that this would be his final season on the ATP World Tour.
Four other seeds avoided opening-round upsets. No. 9 Czech Radek Stepanek defeated Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 2-6, 6-4; No. 13 Frenchman Richard Gasquet beat Czech Jan Hernych 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; No. 14 Swede Robin Soderling beat Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-1, 6-4; and No. 16 Spaniard Feliciano Lopez beat Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-1.
Former French Open champ Gaston Gaudio, playing in only his second ATP match of the year, reached the second round by defeating fellow Argentine Diego Junqueira 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
