STOCKHOLM, 23 October 2003 — Top seed and defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan suffered a first round exit at the Stockholm Open when little-known Dutchman John Van Lottum beat him 7-5, 6-1 yesterday.

The Thai, currently 11th in the Champions Race, saw his slim hopes of reaching the Masters in Houston next month recede even further as Van Lottum outplayed him with clever tactics in their first ever meeting.

“Actually, it’s not really a goal for me to reach the Masters this year,” Paradorn said.

Van Lottum refused to be intimidated by Paradorn’s more powerful shots and efficiently varied the pace of his own strokes throughout the match, provoking several unforced errors from the Thai.

Earlier in the day American fifth seed Mardy Fish became the first player through to the quarterfinals beating French qualifier Julien Benneteau 6-4, 6-4.

Defending Champion Nalbandian

Eases Through

In Basel, Switzerland, defending champion David Nalbandian marched into the second round of the Swiss Indoors yesterday after a 6-4, 6-0 win over Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.

Fourth-seed Nalbandian, who defeated Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez in the final last year, began the defense of his title with a comfortable victory after Hidalgo’s form collapsed in the second set.

Hidalgo was broken in the opening game but hit back with an immediate break of his own. Spaniards Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez also secured places in the second round after victories yesterday.

Eighth-seed Robredo saw off the challenge of Swiss wild card Michel Kratochvil to win 6-4, 6-4, while Lopez overcame 17-year-old compatriot Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 in a tight affair, lasting more than two hours. World No.19 Robredo will play either Olivier Rochus of Belgium or fellow Spaniard Felix Mantilla in the second round, while Lopez faces fifth-seeded Czech Jiri Novak.

Croatian Ivan Ljubicic won a tough encounter with Italian Filippo Volandri 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to set up a second round clash with home favorite and second-seed Roger Federer.

Top Seed Myskina Ousts

Bovina to Reach Quarters

In Linz, Austria, top seed Anastasia Myskina won an all Russian battle against Elena Bovina yesterday to advance into the last eight of the Linz WTA tournament.

Myskina, chasing her fifth title of the year and second of the month after Moscow, beat Bovina 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to score her first victory against her compatriot on the WTA Tour.

“She’s a good player so it was very difficult. I’m so happy to have finally won,” Myskina said after the two-hour match.

The top seed, however, was aware that she did not play her best tennis during the clash marked by constant losses of serve.

Austria’s Barbara Schett was booed off court after she lost 6-3, 6-3 to Hungarian Petra Mandula in the first round. Her exit means not a single Austrian made it past the first round of this indoor tournament.

In other first-round action, Czech Denisa Chladkova wore down Slovak Ludmila Cervanova 6-3, 5-7, 6-0.