Stockholm, Oct 23: Double Dutch worked a treat as the unheralded pair of Raemon Sluiter and John Van Lottum staged upsets to mow down the seeds at the 650,000-euro Stockholm Open yesterday.
Chile's number three Nicolas Massu dipped to another loss just three days after losing a Masters final in Madrid, dropping a 6-3 3-6 7-5 first-round decision to determined Dutchman Sluiter.
Massu became the seventh seed to fall since Monday at the Kungligahallen. But Stockholm fans have plenty to cheer with four Swedes remaining alive in an event where local players have lifted the title in five of the last eight years.
Massu flew to the frigid north after losing in straight sets at the weekend to world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero and bidding to emulate compatriot Marcelo Rios who played the final here a year ago.
He didn't manage as Sluiter, 59th in the world, stole the show to claim his second major scalp in Stockholm after upsetting then-world number one Lleyton Hewitt a year ago in the second round.



This season, the 25-year-old reached a final in Rotterdam; he now stands 20-24 this season.



Massu holds two clay titles from Amersfoort, the Netherlands and in Palermo, this season and lost for the first time against Sluiter.



Two Swedes won matches, with veteran Jonas Bjorkman eliminating compatriot Andreas Vinciguerra 4-6 6-2 6-1 to reach the second round while up-and-coming Joachim Johansson ousted Chile's fourth seed Fernando Gonzalez 4-6 6-4 7-5 for a place in the quarters.


Bureau Report