Alinghi won the first race of the series by 35 seconds

The boats started almost simultaneously and fought nose-to-nose before Swiss boat Alinghi eased ahead.

Team New Zealand staged a fightback on the second upwind leg but Alinghi moved back downwind to cross the finishing line 35 seconds ahead.

The best-of-nine series is a rematch of the 2003 America's Cup final which Alinghi won 5-0 in Auckland.

Team NZ will get the chance to level the scores when the second race gets under way on Sunday.

Both boats made a clean start to the opening race with a starboard tack but Team NZ took the right-side channel and NZL 92 looked by far the smoother boat.

But Alinghi forced Team NZ to tack off some 10 minutes into the race, and the Swiss hit the first mark with a 13-second lead, which they increased to 20 on the second upwind lap.

The third lap saw the Kiwis gain some ground, cutting the lead to 14 seconds, but the Swiss held on for a psychologically important opening win.

"It's a great result," said Alinghi team skipper Brad Butterworth.

"SUI 100 is a new boat. We tried a few different things today; some we are pleased with, some not."

One race does not make the series Team NZ tactician Terry Hutchinson

Meanwhile, Team NZ helmsman Dean Barker said his crew had expected Alinghi to try to make a statement of intent in the opening race.

"They're fast and they sail well - it's certainly nothing we didn't expect," he said.

"But we can't blame it on our (boat) speed today, it was just the subtleties of the breeze out there. It was a little bit stronger than what we had anticipated."

Team NZ will have to reverse the trend of recent history if they are to triumph. Not since 1983 has the loser of the opening race gone on to win the Cup.

"Sunday is definitely another day, and fortunately, one race does not make the series," Team NZ tactician Terry Hutchinson.

Team NZ beat Italy's Luna Rossa 5-0 to win the Louis Vuitton Cup and earn the right to compete once again for the oldest trophy in sport.