Denis Istomin loses to Russian Marat Safin in St Petersburg

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan failed to book his place to semifinal of the St Petersburg Open on Friday.

Russian Marat Safin progressed to the semifinal of the tournament with a straight sets win over Denis Istomin.

Safin bead the Uzbek with the score 6/0 in the first set and 7/6 (7/4) in the second.

Safin, a two-time champion in St Petersburg, will meet qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky in the last four after he cruised past German Bjorn Phau 6-3 7-5.