Kuerten forced into early exit

The Brazilan world No1 Gustavo Kuerten suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the Brazil Open, falling to compatriot Flavio Saretta 6-4, 2-6, 4-6.

Kuerten showed none of his usual speed or flair and afterwards blamed the high temperatures for his lethargic performance.

"I don't know what I'm thinking, I don't really know what happened here," an emotional Saretta said after the match. "I've been training all my life to beat great players. When they're not playing well, I have to make the most of it."

In other matches Nicolas Massu of Chile defeated Ignacio Hirigoyen of Argentina 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 while the fifth seed, Fernando Meligeni accounted for Francisco Costa of Spain, 6-1, 6-2.

Meanwhile, top seed Andrei Pavel delighted his hometown fans with a 6-0, 6-3 triumph over Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic in the Bucharest Open.

Pavel, 27, who won his first Masters Series title in Montreal last month, will now meet Thomas Behrend of Germany in the second round.

Pavel said: "It was so nice to play here and I played very well. I felt some pressure because everyone expected me to win."

Second seed Albert Portas of Spain joined Pavel in the second round when he crushed Greek qualifier Solon Peppas 6-2, 6-0 and now faces fellow countryman Albert Montanes, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Olivier Rochus of Belgium.