Marat Safin sets up next clash with Novak Djokovic

LONDON (Reuters) - Twice grand slam winner Marat Safin saw off a third-set fightback by Fabio Fognini at Wimbledon on Monday to win 6-1 6-2 7-6 and set up a meeting with third-seeded Novak Djokovic in the second round.

Despite his oft-repeated dislike of grass courts, the big Russian, a quarter-finalist in 2001, produced an array of powerful shots in the first two sets to out-gun his 21-year-old Italian opponent.

Safin's concentration slipped in the third set and with it his accuracy. Fognini, making his first appearance in the men's singles, fought back to force a tiebreak but Safin's power and experience saw him through.

(Reporting by Ori Lewis, editing by Clare Lovell)