WIMBLEDON, England — Marat Safin's final match at Wimbledon took place on cozy Court 18, tucked in a corner of the All England Club, closer to the exit than to the court where trophies are handed out.

That was appropriate, because Safin always seemed to have one foot out the door at Wimbledon. Playing his final year on the tour, the mercurial Russian lost in the first round Tuesday to American Jesse Levine, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Safin smiled when asked how he felt to be done at Wimbledon.

"Relieved," he said.

The two-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 never really took to grass, although he came to accept it as a brief, necessary annoyance at the start of each summer.

His best Wimbledon run came last year, when he reached the semifinals before losing to Roger Federer. But he won only 16 of 26 matches at the All England Club.

In today's play, Nadia Petrova of Russia cruised past Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round.

The 10th-seeded Petrova broke the 55th-ranked Peer in the fourth game of the first set and never let the Israeli find her stride after that. Petrova hit 26 winners to Peer's 10 and broke her opponent twice in the second set, wrapping up the match when the Israeli sent a forehand long.

Petrova will next play the winner between Maria Sharapova and Gisela Dulko of Argentina.

Also today, last year's semifinalist Zheng Jie of China was eliminated in the second round, losing 6-3, 7-5 to Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

On the women's side Tuesday, American Melanie Oudin pulled off a surprise in her tournament debut, beating No. 29-seeded Sybille Bammer 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The 17-year-old Oudin, who is from Marietta, Ga., earned her first win in a major event.

No. 13 Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, saved two match points to beat Lucie Hradecka 5-7, 6-2, 8-6. Also advancing was this year's winner at Roland Garros, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and top-ranked Dinara Safina — Safin's younger sister.

No. 3 Andy Murray began his bid to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936 by beating American Robert Kendrick 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4. That match took place on Centre Court, where the new retractable roof remained open for the second day.