It was a painful stop in Rome for Andy Roddick, starting with a tragic fire in his hotel and ending with a first-round defeat in the Italian Open.
``It's tough to put it out of your mind, you know it's going to creep in,'' the second-ranked American said after falling to Argentine clay court specialist Guillermo Canas in straight sets at the Foro Italico.
The US. Open champion lost 7-6 (7), 6-1, wasting three set points in the tightly fought tie break, then putting up little resistance in the second set -- not the kind of performance Roddick had hoped for in his preparation for the French Open, the only Grand Slam played on clay.
Three tourists died in the dawn fire Saturday in the five-star hotel where Roddick and number of other players and tennis officials were staying.
They were evacuated and moved to another hotel.
"I wasn't concentrating for one reason or another," the American said, although not directly blaming the fire for the distraction. "I just went out there, I was rushing things. I definitely don't think I put forth my best effort today, so it's a little disappointing."
In contrast, top seeded Roger Federer, playing his first clay court tournament of the year, kept focused to defeat Jonas Bjorkman 7-6 (4), 6-3. Federer was a finalist on the red clay in Rome last year and has since won Wimbledon and this year's Australian Open.
In another match, Tommy Robredo of Spain showed off some impressive baseline strokes to beat Australian No. 9 Mark Philippoussis in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Roddick was erratic as he committed 35 unforced errors to only 11 by the Argentine, but the American still had his chances. Canas won the set on his fifth set point when Roddick netted a shot at his feet.
German Open
Sixth-seeded Jennifer Capriati breezed past German wild card Julia Schruff 6-3, 6-1 in her opening match.
Capriati, given a first round bye, advanced to the third, where she has lost in her last two tournaments. Capriati has been fighting a sore back all year.
Seeds reaching the second round at the US$1.3 million event included three Russians, No. 5 Nadia Petrova, No. 9 Vera Zvonareva, and No. 10 Svetlana Kuznetsova, along with No. 13 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.
American Meghann Shaughnessy pulled off the tournament's first upset, routing 15th-seeded Jelena Dokic of Serbia-Montenegro 6-0, 6-3.
The field is led by world No. 2 Kim Clijsters, another player coming off injury, world No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo, the 2001 winner, and Venus Williams. Capriati needed 70 minutes to beat Schruff, who hasn't survived any second round matches this season.
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