Nalbandian falls at Swiss Open

Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian suffered a 7-5, 6-3 first-round defeat to Romanian fourth seed Andrei Pavel at the Swiss Open on Wednesday.

The Argentine was beaten by Australian world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt on Sunday after becoming the first player to reach the Wimbledon final on his debut in the main draw.

But back on his favored clay surface, the 20-year-old could find no way past Pavel, who now faces local hope Marc Rosset in the second round.

Albert Costa's honeymoon was well and truly over when he was brought back down to earth by a French qualifier in his first match since winning the French Open crown just over a month ago.

Costa, who got married following his Roland Garros win last month and opted to miss the grasscourt season to go on his honeymoon, barely had time to unpack his baggage as he was sent skidding out of the event 6-4, 6-3 in the first round Tuesday by Paul-Henri Mathieu.

The promising 20-year-old Frenchman, who reached the fourth round at the French Open as a wildcard before falling to Andre Agassi in a five-set thriller, took advantage of Costa's lack of match practice to gain the upper hand as the Spaniard struggled to find his footing on the slow surface.

Costa was aiming to win his third Gstaad title, following victories in 1996 and 1999.

French Open runner-up Juan Carlos Ferrero and third-seeded Swiss Roger Federer had little trouble easing into the second round.

Second seed Ferrero thrashed compatriot Alberto Martin 6-2, 6-2 to set up yet another all-Spanish battle with David Sanchez in the second round.

Federer posted a 6-4, 6-3 win over Hicham Arazi of Morocco.

Marc Rosset won the all-Swiss clash 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 with George Bastl, conqueror of seven-times champion Pete Sampras in the second round at Wimbledon.

The unseeded pair pushed the first set to a tie-break which Rosset took 7-5, but the 1992 Barcelona Olympics gold medallist suffered a lapse in concentration to drop the second before making amends in the decider.

Nicolas Lapentti, the 1999 Swiss Open finalist, failed to perform on his favorite clay surface and was the only other seed to follow Costa out of the tournament.

The sixth-seeded Ecuadorean was beaten 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 by Hungarian Attila Savolt.

Savolt will next meet Slovakia's Karol Kucera.

Other winners on the day included seventh-seeded Argentine Gaston Gaudio, who rallied to beat compatriot Franco Squillari 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.