American qualifier Bobby Reynolds became the latest player to frustrate former world number one Marat Safin with a 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 first-round win at the Sony Ericsson Open on Thursday.
The 90th-ranked Safin, who saved two match points in the third set, is in a deep slide having won only one of six matches played this year.
"I'm trying, and it doesn't come out my way. But (that) doesn't mean that I have to stop because I'm not winning matches. I enjoy what I'm doing," twice grand slam champion Safin told reporters.
"I have plenty of cash to do what I want to do, so what I want to do is play tennis."
American Mardy Fish, who stunned top-ranked Roger Federer in a straight-set victory in the Pacific Life Open last week, went down 6-3, 6-3 to Frenchman Arnaud Clement.
Fish, who lost his serve in the eighth game of the first set and first and ninth games of the second set, was unable to take advantage of any of the four break point opportunities he had against the Frenchman.
"Arnaud is obviously a tough player," said Fish, a silver medallist at the 2004 Athens Games.
The 40th-ranked player said the loss to Clement, a French Open finalist in 2001, in no way took away from his only win over Federer in six career matches played.
"It is pretty surreal in the beginning because it just felt like another match," said Fish of that win.
"It didn't really hit me, I think, until the next morning at 4.00 in the morning. I kind of woke up and couldn't go back to sleep."
KNEE INJURY
Safin's only victory this season came over Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the first round of the Australian Open.
The 104th-ranked Reynolds is the lowest ranked player Safin has lost to this year.
Safin's other defeats were against Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in the second round of the Australian Open, and first-round losses to Thomas Johansson of Sweden in Memphis, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in Las Vegas, and Jurgen Melzer of Austria in Indian Wells.
A left knee injury that surfaced three years ago has forced Safin to restyle his game.
"It takes a lot of courage, you know, to try and still go on the court when you're ranked 85 in the world," Safin said.
"So I need to get some credit for that. I could have retired after I got injured with the knee, I could have retired right there, but I was trying. I'm trying already for three years, so I deserve some credit for that also."
Austrian Jurgen Melzer defeated Michael Llodra of France 7-6, 7-6 and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia beat Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
Gulbis defeated Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia, who is on the comeback trail after right elbow surgery, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
