Third seed Andre Agassi suffered a shock 3-6 3-6 first round defeat to Spain's Alex Calatrava at the $2.95 million Rome Masters today.
Agassi, leader of the ATP Champions Race and one of the favourites for the tournament, made 35 unforced errors as he followed fellow American Pete Sampras out of the tournament.
It was Agassi's first match of the claycourt season, although he is still likely to be regarded as a leading contender when the French Open begins on May 28th.
Calatrava, the 27-year-old making his first appearance in a Masters Series event, plays either compatriot Felix Mantilla or Italian Mose Navarra in the second round.
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Sampras, the fourth seed, lost earlier today in three sets to Harel Levy of Israel.