Hantschk crashes out of Indian Open

Hantschk was toppled by outsider Edwin Kempes

German Markus Hantschk and Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic became the first big-name casualties of the Indian Open on Monday.

Eighth seed Vanek lost his first-round match to Edwin Kempes, who was 171st in the 2000 ATP Champions Race - the Dutchman winning 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-3.

Last year's finalist and seventh seed Hantschk was beaten in straight sets by unheralded David Sanchez of Spain 6-3 6-3 in 74 minutes.

"I haven't played a match for a month and I think that made a difference," said Hantschk.

Kempes dominated Vanek in their baseline duel, hitting harder and deeper than the Romanian, ranked 97th in the world last year.

After clinching a tight first-set tie-break, Kempes' unforced errors late in the second set helped Vanek restore parity.

Wild card

But when the two had traded breaks early in the third set, the Dutchman broke Vanek in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead and closed out the match with a perfect service game.

Zimbabwe's Byron Black, the fourth seed and 1999 champion, survived a scare from Russian qualifier Nikolay Daveydenk before winning 6-4 4-6 6-3 in exactly two hours.

Indian doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi, a wild card in the singles, crashed out when he lost his first-round match 6-3 2-6 6-7 (2-7) to Russia's Andrei Stoliarov.

Michal Tabara of the Czech Republic, who beat Kafelnikov last year, sailed through with a 6-3 6-3 win over Fernando Gonzalez of Chile at the Nungambakkam stadium.

Frenchman Cyril Saulnier beat Spain's Emilio Alvarez 6-4 6-2 while India's other wild card, Davis Cup player Syed Fazaluddin, lost to Romania's Adrian Voinea 4-6 2-6.

ATP Tour Gold Flake Open, Chennai, India: 1st rd (prefix denotes seed): E Kempes (Ned) bt (8) J Vanek (Cze) 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-3,
D Sanchez (Spa) bt M Hantschk (Ger) 6-3 6-3,
A Stoliarov (Rus) bt M Bhupathi (Ind) 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-2),
B Black (Zim) bt N Davydenko (Rus)
6-4 4-6 6-3,
M Tabara (Cze) bt F Gonzalez (Chi) 6-3 6-3,
A Voinea (Rom) bt F Syed (Ind) 6-4 6-2,
C Saulnier (Fra) bt E Alvarez (Spa) 6-4 6-2