BBC SPORT | TENNIS | Top seeds rolled over on Swiss clay

Top seed Marat Safin and local boy Roger Federer were the big-name losers in the first round of the Swiss Open.

Safin, who reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, struggled to adapt on his return to clay and was beaten 6-4 6-7 6-4 by Spaniard Juan Balcells in Gstaad.

"There just wasn't enough time to prepare," said the Russian who has now lost in both his meetings against Balcells.

"All the balls were really flying, so I was just pushing them back. There was nothing else I could do."

Federer, the fifth seed and a national hero in Switzerland following his victory over Pete Sampras at Wimbledon, went down 6-2 6-1 to Ivan Ljubicic.

The Croatian needed just 50 minutes to defeat the Swiss teenager and afterwards paid tribute to the inspirational qualities of Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic.

Roger Federer was beaten in his home tournament

"I've been practising like an animal," said Ljubicic, ranked 70 in the world

"This morning I talked to Goran and gave him some compliments and the first thing he did was ask about my game.

"I was crying watching his match on Monday, and the way he's playing is definitely giving me more energy for my tennis."

Defending champion Alex Corretja added to a disappointing day for the Swiss as he opened his account with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Ivo Heuberger.

Second seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero and third seeded Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean also went through.


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