James Blake became the first seeded casualty in Rome Masters when the American 14th seed lost 7-5, 6-3 to Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi in the first round on Monday.

Blake fought back to 5-5 after losing the first five games of the match but he failed to force a tiebreak by dropping serve in the final game of the first set.

Blake briefly perked up again but then appeared to lose heart after relinquishing a 2-0 lead in the second set and 26-year-old Crivoi sealed the match with a sweet drop volley at the net.

Last year's runner-up Stanislas Wawrinka, seeded 10th, overcame a few concentration lapses to move into the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Igor Kunitsyn.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who has a bye to the second round along with the other top seeds, will start his title defence against Albert Montanes. The Spaniard beat Italian wildcard Potito Starace 7-6, 6-4.

World number two Roger Federer, yet to win a title this year, will begin his campaign against Croat Ivo Karlovic.

British fourth seed Andy Murray will face Juan Monaco after the Argentine qualifier swept aside German Nicolas Kiefer 6-2, 6-3.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2009)