Agassi crashes out in Canada

Andre Agassi could not repeat his form of last week

Andre Agassi crashed out of the Canadian Masters in the first round when he was beaten 6-2 6-4 by Croatian Ivan Ljubicic.

The American beat Pete Sampras to take the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles on Sunday but found conditions in Montreal difficult to handle.

"It was like playing a different sport out there," said Agassi. "Here, the balls are quick and low. In LA, they bounce high.

"I was not comfortable in any facet of my game. He took it to me. He was better than I was and there was nothing I could do about it."

Ljubicic, ranked 58th in the Champions Race, lost in straight sets in his only previous encounter with Agassi in Miami earlier this year.

Ferrero switched from clay to cement with ease

"I'm pretty excited about this," said the 21-year-old. "It's a big win, you can't beat many players better than Agassi."

In other first round matches, Gustavo Kuerten had to come from behind to beat Ronald Agenor of Haiti 4-6 6-4 6-3 while Juan Carlos Ferrero adjusted quickly after the claycourt season to beat Jiri Novak 6-3 6-4.

American Jan-Michael Gambill found his form after struggling for most of the season to defeat Dutchman Sjeng Schalken 6-1 6-4.

Compatriot Andy Roddick also moved comfortably into the second round with a 6-3 6-2 win over South Korean Hyung-Taik Lee.

But fellow American Michael Chang continued his miserable form with a 6-2 6-3 defeat to Spain's Alberto Martin.

Martin was joined in the second round by Tommy Haas, of Germany, who defeated Spain's Alex Calatrava 6-4 6-3.

Argentine Gaston Gaudio also made a successful switch from clay to cement at the expense of Wayne Arthurs, beating the British-based Australian 7-6 7-6.