Agassi, Bruguera crash at first hurdle

Agassi, the 1990 and 1991 losing finalist, bowed 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to Russian teenage sensation Marat Safin, who had to qualify because of his modest 116th Tour ranking.

The Spaniard and the American have had contrasting seasons. Bruguera slowly sinking in the World rankings while Agassi was fighting his way back to top 20 with tournament wins in the United States at San Jose and Scottsdale.

The former Wimbledon champion had looked like one of the leading outsiders coming into the tournament and he played a solid match against the 18-year-old Russian.

But the towering Safin, serving well and keeping his opponent behind the baseline thanks to powerfulforehands, mostly had the upper hand in a match lasting 3 hrs 11 min.Agassi had to be content with saving two match points, the last one thanks to nervousness of a fidgety Safin, before bidding farewell to the only Grand Slam he has yet to win.

For Safin, who signalled he would be a player to watch when he beat Magnus Larsson in Barcelona and gave Jim Courier a battle in a recent Davis Cup tie, this was by far the best result in a professional career started two years ago. Unlike Agassi, Bruguera had a diastrous season, reaching the third round at best in the 15 tournaments he played.

"Nothing’s going right for me at the moment, on court or off it," said the Spaniard, unseeded this year and now likely to drop below 50 in the rankings. In an interview with French sports daily L’Equipe today, the Catalan admitted he had personal problems which he refused to disclose.

Monica Seles is also going through a difficult time following the death of her father two weeks ago. But the 1990, 1991 and 1992winner here had no trouble dispatching Australian Annabel Ellwood 6-0, 6-2 in just 51 minutes.

"It has been a tough 15 months for my family, mostly for my father. But this is what I want to do (play tennis), my Dad would love me to play," she said. Defending champion Gustavo Kuerten hardly had time to savour his return to the centre court where he triumphed 12 months ago, ousting Frenchman Charles Auffray in 76 minutes. Auffray, 195th in the world rankings, crashed 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 to the Brazilian. Kuerten meets Safin in an intriguing second-round clash, with the Russian in the role Kuerten performed so well last year.

US Open champion pat Rafter, a semi-finalist in Paris last year, survived a thrilling five setter against Canadian Sebastien Lareau which had been halted because of poor light last night.

The Australian, seeded fourth, won 6-7, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

IVANISEVIC OUT: Big-serving Croatian Goran Ivanisevic suffered another shock early exit from a major tournament here today when he wasoutgunned by Italian qualifier Marizo Martelli in the first round. The 27-year-old Ivanisevic, who lost 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-2), described the result as "a disaster".

The former world No 4, who has now won only one match in his last five Grand Slams and just six matches since February, has slumped to 26 in the rankings.

"I don’t know what the problem is. To lose to him it’s really bad," said a despondent Ivanisevic, who had been hoping that a good run at Roland Garros would put his career back on track. Ivanisevic, who has reached the quarter-finals three times in Paris in ten visits, was clearly at odds with himself and his game as he crashed out to a player ranked 138 in the world and making his debut at the event.

Martelli now plays last year’s semi-finalist Filip Dewulf of Belgium for a place in the third round. Dewulf beat Magnus Larsson of Sweden 7-6 (7-0), 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).

Paes-Bhupathi seeded third

Their next round opponents are the winners of the match between Cristian Brandi and Filippo Messori against N Godwin and T Ketola. Incidentally, Brandi and Messori defeated the Indian duo in the first round at Wimbledon last year If Paes and Bhupathi come through to the semifinals, they will, most probably, meet the Woodies who are seeded second behind Dutchmen Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis.

SRINATH SOARS, BHUPATHI FALLS: Prahlad Srinath is fast catching up with Mahesh Bhupathi on the ATP computer. Srinath’s latest ranking is at 471 while Bhupathi has plummeted to 321. Leander Paes is at 105 and Syed Fazaluddin at 693.

OTHER INDIANS: 1069 Gaurav Natekar, 1221 Harsh Mankad, 1285 Sandeep Kirtane, 1285 Nitin Kirtane, 1296 Vikram Venkataraghavan, 1337 Vasudeva Reddy, 1374 Vikrant Chadha, 1374 Vijay Kannan, Meanwhile, Syed Fazaluddin is reported to have made it to the main draw in the $ 15,000 Futurestournament starting at Boca Raton, Florida this week.

HOW SEEDS FARED AT THE FRENCH OPEN

(Seedings in prefix)

Men’s singles (1st round): 1-Pete Sampras (US) bt Todd Martin (US) 6-4 6-3 6-3; 3-Marcelo Rios (Chi) bt Brett Steven (NZ) 7-5 6-2 3-6 6-3; 4-Patrick Rafter (Aus) bt Sebastien Lareau (Can) 6-7 (5-7) 3-6 6-1 6-3 6-2; Johan van Herck (Bel) bt 5-Greg Rusedski (Bri) 6-4 6-4 6-4; 6-Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Rus) bt Mose Navarra (Ita) 6-4 4-6 6-1 6-4; Thomas Muster (Aut) bt 7-Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) 6-3 6-3 6-3; 8-Gustavo Kuerten (Bra) bt Charles Auffray (Fra) 6-0 6-2 6-2; Todd Woodbridge (Aus) bt 9-Karol Kucera (Slo) 1-6 6-2 6-4 6-3; 10-Richard Krajicek (Net) bt Nicolas Lapentti (Ecu) 6-4 6-4 6-7 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5); 14-Alex Corretja (Spa) bt Karim Alami (Mor) 6-3 6-2 0-6 6-4; 15-Felix Mantilla (Spa) bt Wolfgang Schranz (Aus) 6-2 6-4 6-2

Women’s singles (1st round): 1-Martina Hingis (Swi) bt Maria-Antonia Sanchez-Lorenzo (Spa) 6-2 6-1; 3-Jana Novotna (Czech Rep) bt Anne Miller (US) 7-5 6-4;4-Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (Spa) bt Jana Kandarr (Ger) 6-2 7-5; 6-Monica Seles (US) bt Annabel Ellwood (Aus) 6-0 6-2; 8-Venus Williams (US) bt Tamarine Tanasugarn (Tha) 6-3 6-1; Syliva Plischke (Aus) bt 9-Irina Spirlea (Rom) 6-2 6-4; 10-Iva Majoli (Cro) bt Pavlina Stoyanova (Bul) 6-3 6-1; Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Swi) bt 12-Nathalie Tauziat (Fra) 4-6 7-5 6-4; 13-Anna Kournikova (Rus) bt Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) 6-2 6-4; Tatiana Panova (Rus) bt 16-Lisa Raymond (US) 6-3 6-4

Other Results

Men’s singles (1st round): Marizo Martelli (Ita) bt Goran Ivanisevic (Cro) 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2); Marat Safin (Rus) bt Andre Agassi (US) 5-7 7-5 6-2 3-6 6-2; Hernan Sumy (Arg) bt Sergi Bruguera (Spa) 6-2 6-2 6-3; Fernando Vicente (Spa) bt Mark Woodforde (Aus) 4-6 6-4 6-2 6-1; Nicolas Escude (Fra) bt Jerome Golmard (Fra) 6-1 6-2 6-0; Dominik Hrbaty (Slo) bt Steve Campbell (US) 2-6 6-3 6-3 6-3; Daniel Vacek (Czech Rep) bt Sjeng Schalken (Net) 1-6 6-2 6-4 7-5; Gianluca Pozzi (Ita) bt Marc Rosset (Swi) 6-2 6-1 4-6 6-4;Juan Albert Viloca (Spa) bt Javier Sanchez (Spa) 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 5-7 6-4 6-3; Francisco Clavet (Spa) bt Andrei Chesnokov (Rus) 6-1 6-4 6-1; Jan-Michael Gambill (US) bt Martin Rodriguez (Arg) 6-3 6-2 6-4; Rodolphe Gilbert (Fra) bt Albert Protas (Spa) 6-3 6-3 2-6 2-6 6-4; Hicham Arazi (Mor) bt Jiri Novak (Czech Rep) 6-0 6-2 7-6 (7-1); Magnus Gustafsson (Swe) bt Alex O’Brien (US) 6-24-6 6-2 6-2; David Prinosil (Ger) bt Olivier Mutis (Fra)6-4 1-6 4-6 6-3 6-2; Andrew Llie (Aus) bt Julian Alonso (Spa)4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2; Nicolas Kiefer (Ger) bt Tommy Haas (Ger) 6-1 6-2 7-6; Mikael Tillstrom (Swe) bt Slava Dosedel (Czech Rep) 7-5 6-1 6-2; Vincent Spadea (US) bt Daniel Nestor (Can) 5-7 5-2 (Nestor retired injured); Jens Knippschild (Ger) bt Carlos Costa (Spa) 6-4 6-2 6-4; Fernando Meligeni (Bra) bt Thomas Johansson (Swe) 6-4 6-2 6-4; Guillaume Raoux (Fra) bt Juan Antonio Marin (Costa Rica) 6-3 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2); Andrea Gaudenzi (Ita) bt Andrei Medvedev (Ukr) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 0-6 2-6 6-1; Ramon Delgado (Par) bt Martin Damm(Czech Rep) 6-2 (Damm retired injured); Jordi Mas (Spa) bt Michael Sell (US) 0-6 6-4 6-2 7-6 (7-4); Jim Courier (US) bt Richard Formberg (Aus) 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 0-6 6-4; Bohdan Ulihrach (Czech Rep) bt Wayne Balck (Zim) 6-1 6-7 (7-9) 6-2 6-3; Wayne Ferreira (SA) bt Martin Sinner (Ger) 6-2 1-6 6-3 6-1; Magnus Norman (Swe) bt Bernd Karbacher (Ger) 6-2 1-6 6-3 6-1; Christophe van Garsse (Bel) bt Marcello Carca (Ger) 6-1 6-1 6-1; Scott Draper (Aus) bt Tomas Nydahl (Swe) 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-3; Pepe Imaz (Spa) bt Jean-Baptist Perlant (Fra) 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-3 3-6 6-3; Mark Philippoussis (Aus) bt Oliver Gross (Ger) 6-1 7-5 6-4; Laurence Andretto (Fra) bt Naria Alejandra Vento (Ven) 6-3 6-3

Women’s singles (1st round): Elena Likhovtseva (Rus) bt Sandra Cacic (US) 6-4 6-3; Sung-Hee Park (South Korea) bt Francesca Lubiani (Ita) 5-7 6-1 6-2; Anne-Gaelle Sidot (Fra) bt Noelle van Lottum (Fra) 2-6 6-3 6-2; Virginia Ruano-Pascual (Spa) bt Sandra Kloesel (Ger) 6-1 6-2; Corina Morariu (US) bt Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (Net) 6-32-0 (Schultz-McCarthy retired injured); Julie Halard-Decugis (Fra) bt Naoko Kijimute (Jpn) 6-1 6-2; Catalina Cristea (Rom) bt Mariaan de Swardt (SA) 6-1 6-2; Alexandra Fusai (Fra) bt Barbara Paulus (Aut) 6-1 7-5; Tara Snyder (US) bt Emmanuelle Curutchet (Fra) 7-5 6-1; Flora Perfetti (Ita) bt Sandra Cecchini (Ita) 6-4 6-3; Marion Maruska (Aut) bt Kerry-Anne Guse (Aus) 7-5 6-3; Cara Black (Zim) bt Ana Alcazer (Spa) 6-3 4-6 6-3; Ruxandra Dragomir (Rom) bt Annabel Ellwood (Aus) 6-0 6-2; Mariam Oremans (Net) bt Elena Makarova (Rus) 6-1 1-6 6-3; Katarina Studenikova (Slo) bt Sandra Kleinova (Czech Rep) 6-3 6-1; Anna Smashnova (Isr) bt Larisa Neiland (Lat) 3-6 6-3 6-2; Naoko Swamatsu (Jpn) bt Larisa Neiland (Lat) 3-6 2-6 7-5; Barbara Rittner (Ger) bt Segolene Berger (Fra) 6-0 6-2; Karina Habsudova (Slo) bt Denisa Chladkova (Czech Rep) 6-4 6-0; Nicole Pratt (Aus) bt Ines Gorrochategui (Arg) 6-0 6-2; Barbara Schwartz (Aut) bt Wiltrud Probst (Ger) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1; Alexia Dechaume-Balleret (Fra) bt Olga Lugina (Ukr) 6-15-7 6-2; Anna Wunderlich (US) bt Amelie Cocheteux (Fra) 7-5 7-6 (7-5); Henrieta Nagyova (Slo) bt Rachel McQuillan (Aus) 6-3 6-4; Meike Babel (Ger) bt Yuka Yoshida (Jpn) 6-1 6-0; Chanda Rubin (US) bt Lori McNeil (US) 3-6 6-3 6-4; Kvetoslava Hrdlickova (Czech Rep) bt Eva Bes (Spa) 6-4 3-6 6-3; Nathalie Dechy (Fra) bt Olga Barabanschikova (Bel) 6-3 1-6 6-1; Miho Saeki (Jpn) bt Sarah Pitkowski (Fra) 7-5 7-5 6-3 6-1; Asa Carlsson (Swe) bt Haruka Inoue (Jpn) 7-5 6-1