Fabrice Santoro was at his cunning best on Tuesday night at the Grand Prix de Lyon, as he thrilled the home crowd with a straight sets win over Russian No. 7 seed Marat Safin. He improves to a 7-1 career head-to-head lead over his Russian opponent, whose power play was once again negated by the masterful Frenchman's beguiling tactics. Safin, who has been out with a wrist injury in recent months, has now gone over five months without a match victory, with his last win coming in the semifinals of Barcelona (d. Ferrero) in April.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Safin: "My wrist is getting better and better. It comes down to confidence. Basically, it is only my second tournament. It is difficult to get any kind of level back. I have three tournaments left this season. To win one match in the rest of the year would be a good. I need to start from somewhere."

"I just haven't had time to find my confidence. It doesn't matter who I would have played tonight, it could have been the worst player in the world and I would have still encountered the same problems. I didn't know what shot to play, when to come into the net, how to anticipate the next shot. I was always half a second late. I couldn't read the game. Every set I play, I am getting better. I start slowly and by the time I get to the second set, I know what to do but it is too late."

"I am not going to put any pressure on myself. I know I am getting there. It will come. It is like riding a bicycle, you never forget. Putting pressure on myself will only make matters worse. I just need some time. During my time off, I couldn't do much physical training and I lost seven kilos. I need to spend one month working on my upper body, lifting weights and rebuilding the muscle I have lost."

Santoro: "I can't compare this with my other wins over Marat. That's not the real Marat out there. He's been hurt and is lacking in confidence."

Marat Safin was frustrated again in his comeback return after a series of injuries for the second successive tournament when he lost 6-1 6-4 to doubles specialist Fabrice Santoro of France on Tuesday in the first round of the Lyon Grand Prix.

The Russian seventh seed found Santoro too clever once again - the Frenchman has now beaten him seven times in eight matches.

Safin was leading 4-2 in the second set and had three points for 5-2, but he could not make his advantage count. Santoro, however, took little satisfaction from his victory.

"Marat is very far from his best. It hurts me to see him like that. I think he will need a long time to get back to the top," he told reporters.

Safin, ranked third in the world at the end of 2002, had played only once since April before the Kremlin Cup.

"From now until the end of the year I would like to eke out one victory, that's my short term aim," said Safin. "I am sure I can be competitive in 2004. Tennis is like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it."

Safin, the former US Open champion who has been out with a wrist injury in recent months, has now gone over five months without a match victory, with his last win coming in the semi-finals of the Barcelona event in April.

"That's not the real Marat out there. He's been hurt and is lacking in confidence," Santoro admitted after his 6-1, 6-4 first round victory.

Safin said he was setting modest goals.

"My wrist is getting better and better. To win one match in the rest of the year would be good. I need to start from somewhere."