G Kuerten [1] (Bra) beat G Coria (Arg) 6-1 7-5 6-4

It had the look of being the tie of the round, the reigning champion and top seed Gustavo Kuerten, against one of the rising stars of the clay court scene Guillermo Coria.

Add to that the fact that the two protagonists are from Brazil and Argentina, the bitterest of sporting rivals, and this certainly looked like being a match to savour.

But Kuerten had different ideas, serving 14 aces and breaking his opponent five times on his way to the second round.

From there the man nicknamed 'Guga' had little trouble closing out the match.

"I really did everything I was planning on doing in the match," said Kuerten.

"For me it's always special to come here and play - it doesn't matter if I won last year or not.

"Coming here is exciting, with good expectations and good vibes."

Strong potential

Coria may be the rising star, but he clearly has some way to go before he matches Kuerten's level.

But Kuerten sees a bright future for his opponent.

"He's a great player, for sure, good enough to play against everybody else.

"His results in Monte Carlo and Mallorca show that."

A disappointed Coria said: "I came here and I really wanted to win.

"I wanted to go as far as I could and I really did prepare well for this game.