The Swiss tennis player, George Bastl, was knocked out of the first round of the Indian Open in Madras on Tuesday.

Bastl, who hails from canton Vaud, was defeated in straight sets (4-6, 2-6) by Argentina's Guillermo Canas (ATP 15).

The match turned into a replay of last year's tie between the two players in Melbourne at the Australian Open.

On that occasion, Bastl was sent home disappointed after the Argentinian notched up a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory over his Swiss opponent.

There was comparable disappointment for Bastl's Swiss compatriot, Ivo Heuberger, who also failed to progress past the opening round of the same tournament.

Heuberger's 6-4, 6-4 fall at the first hurdle came courtesy of Sweden's Thomas Johansson.

Defeat in Madras means both players can now focus on next week's qualifying tournament for the Australian Open.

Success for Schnyder

There was better news for Switzerland's Patty Schnyder, who on Monday won through to the second round of the Australian women's hardcourt championship.

Schnyder, a former winner of the tournament in Gold Coast, was handed a warning for racket abuse but held on to her concentration to defeat the Czech Republic's Klara Koukalova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

After the match, the 23-year-old from Basel said she was glad to have been given a tough workout to prepare her for her second round match with Wimbledon and US Open Champion Venus Williams.

"I definitely think she's such a good player that if you want to beat her she has to help a little bit," she said.

"I will try to play a high percentage of my first serve and try to play long and run a lot of balls down so she has to play aggressive, so she has to play winners."

There was also further Swiss success over in the $140,000 WTA tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, where Emmanuelle Gagliardi won her first match against Slovakia's Janette Husarova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

Gagliardi will now go on to meet either Spaniard Conchita Martinez or American Kristina Brandi in the second round.

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