Early exit for Kratochvil

Switzerland's Michel Kratochvil has been knocked out of the $475,000 Marseille Open, losing to Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 7-5 in the first round.

Up against a player ranked 40 places above him, Kratochvil fought back strongly after losing the first set. The Swiss managed to pull it back to 5-5 in the second set after trailing 5-3, but world number three Ferrero refused to crack.

Kratochvil’s failure comes hot on the heels of last weekend’s Davis Cup disappointment when he lost both his singles matches, including a narrow defeat to world number four Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Defeat for Kratochvil, leaves Marc Rosset as the sole Swiss left in the draw. On Tuesday, Rosset secured his first tour win since last October, with a 7-6, 7-6 victory over France’s Thierry Acione.

Mikaelian downs Dechy

On the women’s tour, rising Swiss teenager Marie-Gaïané Mikaelian enjoyed a successful day in Antwerp, beating France’s Nathalie Dechy in three sets.

Ranked more than 30 places below Dechy (WTA 44), the 17-year-old Mikaelian (WTA 78 came through 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to set up a second round tie with Italian world number 13 Silvia Farina Elia.

Swiss number two Patty Schnyder also faces a tough tie in the second round of the Belgian tournament where she is due to meet Yugoslav world number six Jelena Dokic.

swissinfo with agencies