WIMBLEDON, England -- On the 80th birthday of Centre Court, Marat Safin had trouble handling the tradition of staying prim while playing tennis. He won't have to worry about that again this year.

	Marat Safin of Russia feels the pressure during his match against Olivier Rochus of Belgium.

"It's frustrating -- I thought I could play some good tennis here,'' the second-seeded Russian said after his 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1) second-round loss at Wimbledon on Wednesday to Belgium's Olivier Rochus. "Unfortunately it was a bad day at the office.''

Instead of kicking the furniture, he threw his racket several times, once breaking a string and forcing him to get a new one while Rochus was serving. He frequently asked ball boys to toss him a ball, then hit it into the net, delaying play.

In the tiebreaker, Safin angrily smashed a ball to the back of the court when he missed a first serve, and several fans booed. He also became upset when the umpire overruled a linesman and ordered a replay of a point that would have set up a break point.

Wednesday was the 80th anniversary of the opening of tennis' most tradition-bound court, a fact not lost on Safin.

"You can feel how special it is to play,'' he said. "You have to wear the white clothes, and be nice and polite, don't hit the racket.''

Not always as easy at it sounds, it seems.

"For us, for the people who are a little bit more emotional on the court, like me, it's difficult to be quiet,'' Safin said. "I will learn someday.''

He learned a few things about the pint-sized Rochus' game on Wednesday. The Belgian, who at 5-foot-5 is nearly a foot shorter than Safin, combined outstanding drop shots, lobs and passing shots.

With the crowd firmly behind him, Rochus was a happy man at the end -- a lot happier than when he found out he'd be playing older brother Christophe in the opening round.

"When I saw the draw, I thought they had killed the tournament,'' Rochus said. "To play my brother, it was the worst draw ever. I was not really happy when I came here, but now I'm the happiest man on earth.''

Rochus and Safin played some vintage rallies. After an exchange of two shots each at the net, Safin dropped his racket and Rochus hit the ball to an open area of the court, with the Russian helpless to return it.

Safin set up a break point with a back-of-the-court return between his legs that even Rochus applauded. And Safin made another incredible shot -- a Boris Becker-style stretched-out return at the net -- to help him win the 12th game of the fourth set, sending it to a tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker, Safin double-faulted to give Rochus a 2-0 lead and a mini-break. Rochus hit a running forehand pass to make it 5-1, doing a little jump and pumping his fist to celebrate.

Two points later, Safin hit a forehand long to end the match.

Safin finished with 45 unforced errors, compared with 10 for Rochus. Safin had 21 aces but also eight double faults.

Safin leads the ATP Champions Race, which counts points in tournaments this year, but couldn't handle the quickness and clever play of the 64th-ranked Rochus.

The result wasn't totally unexpected: Rochus had beaten Safin once before and extended him to five sets on clay at the French Open last month.

Rochus displayed little emotion after his win. He shook Safin's hand, gave a short wave and blew a kiss to the crowd.

After the match, Rochus was busy fielding calls on his mobile phone from his friends and family in Belgium -- and one text message from brother Christophe.

"He said, 'It was great, just keep going. It's not finished,' " the kid brother said.