DUESSELDORF, Germany -- Marat Safin could miss the French Open after he pulled out of his World Team Cup singles final match against Argentina's Jose Acasuso with a back injury.

"I am going to the hospital to check my back," world number two Safin told reporters. "I have two days to recover. I will see if I can play next week. It must be quite bad if I retired.

"If it was like how it was today, I don't think I can. I will try to see if I can do something over the next few days.

The French Open starts on Monday.

The 22-year-old Russian retired in the fourth game of the third set, handing Acasuso a 2-6, 6-3, 3-0 victory.

Safin, who is due to face France's Michael Llodra in the first round at Roland Garros, said the pain was caused by an irritated nerve between his ribs.

The Russian added that the problem was not linked to an injury he had last year which he said was more abdominal than back related.

Safin, who was runner-up in the Hamburg Masters last week, said he first noticed twinges in his back on Wednesday during a doubles game against Spain.

But he said the pain worsened during his singles game on Friday against Britain's Martin Lee when he needed treatment in the first set.

Acasuso, who faces Spaniard David Sanchez in the first round of the French Open starting next week, went 2-0 up in the third set, before the Russian asked for treatment on for his back.

After a few minutes of massage, Safin played another full game, but retired in the fourth when he was down 0-40 on his own serve to hand the match to Acasuso.

"I started to feel the pain from the second set. I couldn't serve," Safin said. "From the beginning of the third, I couldn't serve at all."

Safin had taken the first set 6-2 but lost his cool in the second set, smashing his racket when the 19-year-old broke his serve in the first game of the set.

The towering Russian questioned several line calls and repeatedly asked the umpire to silence the crowd who were shouting for the Argentine underdog.

Safin, who speaks Spanish, justified his outbursts by saying he thought two Argentina fans were purposefully trying to rile him.

"It's not a football match, it's tennis. I always thought it's not a cheap sport, but some of them don't respect the players," he said. "If somebody is insulting you, I don't think it's good to be quiet and keep it inside of you."

In the other singles match Guillermo Canas then overcame Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-4, 6-2 to hand Argentina victory in the Duesseldorf tournament for the first time since 1980.