Safin out of Aussie tuneup

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Former world No. 1 Marat Safin withdrew Monday from an eight-man exhibition tournament at Kooyong, the former home of the Australian Open, and was replaced by Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia.

Kooyong Classic officials said Safin's manager informed them that the Russian star, who won the Australian Open in 2005, had a shoulder injury and could not take part in the tournament that begins Wednesday.

Safin showed up at last week's Hopman Cup -- where he and his sister, Dinara Safina, lost in the final to Slovakia -- with facial cuts and bruises. He said the injuries resulted from a fight he was involved in before he left Moscow for Perth, although his play at the Hopman Cup appeared to be unaffected.

The Kooyong tournament includes Roger Federer, Stanislaw Wawrinka, Fernando Gonzalez, Fernando Verdasco, Marin Cilic, Carlos Moya and Marcos Baghdatis.

Each player is guaranteed three matches in the tournament which ends Saturday. The Australian Open begins next Monday.