Leave my sister alone, pleads Safin

Marat Safin threw a protective arm around his little sister Dinara on Wednesday after the Russian world number one was slammed for her wobbly performance in the first round of the US Open.

Ever since Safina ascended to the top of the rankings in April, she has come under a barrage of criticism as she had yet to back up her standing with a grand slam title.

A mauling by Venus Williams in the Wimbledon semi-finals, where Safina won just one game, followed by Tuesday's match in which she almost suffered the humiliation of becoming the first women's top seed to perish in the first round of the Open has only served to give her detractors a louder voice.

But Safin, a former world number one himself, said people should just shut up and accept the WTA rankings.

"Everybody is hard on her why she's number one. Is she a real number one or not?

"You open the page (of a newspaper and all you read about is), she made eight double faults, 43 unforced errors. She struggled, almost lost to (an) 18 year old," former US Open champion Safin said after he bowed out of the grand slam arena with a first-round loss to Austria's Juergen Melzer.

"Who cares? I mean, she's number one in the world. I have to protect my sister. The poor girl, she's trying her best. She's doing really well. She gets the attention, but not the kind of attention that a person deserves, especially when you're number one in the world."

Serena Williams was one of the most vocal critics of the system as she struggled to understand how she could be ranked second despite winning two majors this season.

However, outside the slams, the American's last tour victory was in April 2008.

Safina on the other hand has been rewarded by a system that values consistency rather than the quality of tournaments won.

Safin pointed out his sister, who has contested 15 finals in the past 12 months and won seven of them, was not the one to make up the rules and pleaded: "She didn't do the ranking. Deal with that. Leave her alone."

Safin escapes the 'zoo'

Meanwhile, Safin bid farewell to the US Open with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 defeat by Austrian Jurgen Melzer in a first-round match on Wednesday.

Safin's grand slam career came to an end when he punched a backhand into the net to end the two-hour, 13-minute match under sunny skies at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The 29-year-old Russian, who won the 2000 US Open and was formerly the world's top-ranked player, had already announced plans to retire at the end of the year.

Safin also won the Australian Open in 2005. 

Safin walked out of Flushing Meadows -- which he likened to a "zoo" -- for the last time with a final wave to his adoring fans.

In a topsy-turvy career spanning 12 years, Safin's mantra has always been to expect the unexpected.

Whether winning a title in grand style, smashing rackets by the truckload or dropping his shorts on court after conjuring a spectacular winner, the one thing Safin can never be accused of is being boring.

Asked to sum up his abiding memory of the Open, he quipped: "Here first few days it's like a zoo. It's like a million people running around, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, so many people. That's pretty much annoying."

The grand slam stage, thus became a poorer place as never again will spectators at the four majors catch a glimpse of the brilliance or entertaining antics of Safin.