The first tremors of surprise - if not necessarily shock - rocked the XL Capital Bermuda Open yesterday afternoon when top seed Jan Vacek was ousted in straight sets by Vincent Spadea.

Perhaps the winner, who triumphed with a purposeful and energetic 6-3, 7-5 display, got some pre-match encouragement from Ecuador's Luis Adrian Morejon who an hour before on the same court had pre-empted any thoughts Wayne Arthurs might have had of advancing beyond the first round.

The Australian Davis Cup representative was routed 6-2, 6-4 and left Coral Beach Club's upper courts mulling over what had gone wrong.

Both he and the Czech Republic's Vacek encountered similar trouble in their respective first sets as they let their opponents capitalise on early break opportunities.

Vacek, 25, found himself facing a 5-2 deficit in the first set from which he never recovered. A number of unforced errors, particularly shots into the net, added to his frustration.

In an attempt to regain some momentum in the second set, he broke Spadea in the second game and seized a 2-0 lead but this was short-lived as the latter broke back immediately.

The two held serve until 5-5 when the top seed squandered two game points and, eventually, allowed the aggressive Spadea to break him and serve for the match. The American duly obliged much to the delight of enthralled spectators who had waited more than four hours for any play because of yesterday's persistent rain.

"I haven't been to Bermuda in some years so I am pleased to come away with a win, especially with a difficult draw.

"It's my first match on clay in a while but I knew if I played well I could beat almost anyone," said Spadea, a 1995 semi-finalist here.

Noting that Vacek was a "solid player", the 27-year-old explained his tactics were to make sure he played powerfully, be patient and wait for his chances. Ranked number 19 in the world in 1999, Spadea said he was enjoying his "second career in tennis", having taken a break.

"I'm showing some good form and I took out the top seed so we'll see," he replied when asked about his prospects of winning the Open.

Complimenting Spadea, Vacek said he seemed very focused and was unstoppable in the first set. The Czech attributed his loss to being unable to hold the service break he earned in the second set.

Vacek noted that "ranking is just one side of the story" and pointed out that Spadea was playing better than him so far this year and would have to be one of the favourites here. In that regard, the match-up was "tough", reasoned Vacek.

Meanwhile, Morejon, who is returning to the circuit from a long injury lay-off, was ecstatic with his performance.

"I really played good tennis. I think the key was my return. Wayne is one of the best servers and I was just trying to return well and attack with power on my ground strokes," said the 29-year-old.

Ironically, Arthurs, 31, noted it's his serve which has been "a problem area" of late and which let him down again yesterday.

His opponent capitalised on break opportunities in the first and fifth games of the first set. Two double faults in either of these games saw Morejon jump to 5-1 lead and though Arthurs managed to hold serve in game seven he could not prevent Morejon from closing out the set in the following game with a sizzling forehand that proved unreachable. The second set was pretty much the same as Arthurs was broken in the very first game.

"It didn't come together at all today. I don't know what it was. I just didn't compete as I should have," admitted Arthurs.

Morejon's return to competitive tennis was far from happy as he lost two Davis Cup matches last week. However, since coming here, things have been looking decidedly brighter. He reeled off two victories in qualifying action on the weekend prior to yesterday's first-round success.

"I didn't come with too much confidence but I've won three matches and I hope I can go on further," he said.

In a cross-border rivalry, Brazilian Alexandre Simoni gave a gutsy display, clawing his way back from a set down to beat Argentina's Edgardo Massa 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

"I'm so happy. I played him twice before and lost both times. After the first set, I concentrated more and I tell myself I can win," said the 22-year-old, currently 128 in the world rankings.