Den Bosch, Netherlands, June 17: Former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek suffered a blow to his grasscourt confidence when he was beaten 6-4 7-6 (7-4) by Frenchman Olivier Mutis at the Ordina Open today. The Dutchman struggled with his game throughout and his usually dependable serve was particularly poor in the first-round defeat. Krajicek is set to play top seed Lleyton Hewitt in the second round at Wimbledon after tuesday's draw.
A double fault from Krajicek on the opening point was an indication of what was to come. Mutis, ranked 80th in the world, grew in confidence and after breaking in the ninth game, he served out to take the first set.
The second set followed the same pattern but Mutis faltered when he served for the match at 5-4, losing his serve to 15.
The set went into a tiebreak and more poor play from Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon champion, gave Mutis four match points. He saved the first two but the Frenchman clinched one of his best victories with an ace.

Frenchman Arnaud Clement, a semi-finalist in Halle last week, cruised into the second round with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Dutch wildcard Fred Hemmes jr.

Martin Verkerk, who stunned the tennis world by reaching the final of the French Open, plays his first match on grass against German Lars Burgsmueller later.

In the women's event, Barbara Rittner and Els Callens were among first-round winners.

Top seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium opens her title bid with a second-round match against Cara Black of Zimbabwe.

Bureau Report