A nice, easy walk in the park for Agassi

Capriati looked to have the match under control when she raced through the first set then opened up a 4-2 lead in the second. But her lack of match practice suddenly caught up with her and her game fell apart at the seams.

She failed to hit her serves with any consistency and started spraying her groundstrokes all over the court as Weingartner, sensing her opportunity, pounced.

The German captured the second set tie-breaker 8-6 and snatched victory when she broke Capriati’s serve on her first match point to pull off the biggest upset of her career. Capriati, looking heavier and slower than when she saved four match points to beat Martina Hingis in last year’s final in one the great comebacks of tennis history, said she was not fit enough this time.

Capriati’s stunning defeat has increased the chances of another all-Williams final after Venus swept past Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-2.

Andre Agassi also showed why he is being tipped to win a fourth title in the men’s competition after he bulldozed fellow American Brian Vahaly 7-5, 6-3, 6-3.

The three-times champion spent just over two hours booking his next round spot. He had been unable to defend his title here last year because of a wrist injury and looked thrilled to be back on court, blasting 36 clean winners.

Once Venus had shaken off the ring-rustiness caused by two months away from competitive action she also ran away with her match, demolishing the gifted Kuznetsova.

Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov safely booked his place in the second round with a 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over Jeff Morrison.

Just four of the 32 seeds in action fell by the wayside on Monday, with former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez joining Capriati on the casualty list. Martinez, the women’s 31st seed, lost to Australia’s Samantha Stosur 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.

South African Wayne Ferreira sent Spanish 26th seed Tommy Robredo packing with a 5-7, 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 win and Romanian 21st seed Andrei Pavel retired after aggravting a back injury in the first set of his match with Renzo Furlan.

Anna Kournikova has won her first Grand Slam match in two years, sweeping past Henrieta Nagyova 6-1, 6-2.

The victory sets up a second round clash with fifth seed Justine Henin-Hardenne — her conqueror in the first round here last year.

The newly-married Belgian breezed into the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Switzerland’s Myriam Casanova.

Asia’s two in-form player both kicked off their campaigns with victories. Thailand’s Indian Open champion Paradorn Srichaphan beat Jurgen Melzer of Austria 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 and last week’s Sydney winner, South Korean Lee Hyung-Taik, defeated Spain’s David Ferrer 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to set up a second round meeting with Agassi.

Women’s ninth seed and former champion Lindsay Davenport beat French wildcard Camille Pin 6-2, 6-1, seventh-seeded Slovak Daniela Hantuchova beat Colombia’s Fabiola Zuluaga 7-5, 6-7, 6-4. (Reuters)