"It was tough because coming from grass it is a little bit different surface,'' Safin said after his first match in Bastad in 10 years.
"He has great hands and he is also a clay-court specialist. If he had won the first set I think it would have been a tough one because he is the kind of person that goes with the confidence.''
Fifth-seeded Carlos Moya, the champion in 2002 and a semifinalist last year lost in the first round, squandered a match point in falling to Potito Starace 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-4 in his first match since a shoulder injury forced him to miss Wimbledon. Starace meets Safin next.
Eighth-seeded Robin Soderling beat Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-1, 6-7 (4), 7-5 and fellow Swede Thomas Johansson defeated compatriot Filip Prpic 7-6 (4), 6-3 and will meet fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the second round.
"It will be a tough game. He is good on all surfaces,'' Johansson said. "It will be fun to see what I can make of it.''
Seventh-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland rallied to beat Sergio Roitman of Argentina 6-4, 6-2 in a match which started on Monday and was suspended by rain. He will face Steve Darcis of Belgium, who defeated Daniel Koellerer of Austria 7-6 (4), 6-0.
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