The Jekyll and Hyde came out in Flavio Saretta's game yesterday and, despite a valiant fightback - including saving two match points - it was the bad side which prevailed.

Regulars to the XL Capital Bermuda Open must have felt they were watching two different persons as the two-time champion produced a mystifying and mercurial performance on Centre Court, succumbing to Belgian Kristof Vliegen 6-0, 2-6, 6-4.

Saretta's see-saw showing - bad, good, then more bad and some ugly - left spectators aghast, wondering what had become of the stylish South American who had stamped his authority and class on Coral Beach club's clay surfaces in the past.

In the first set, it was as if the back-to-back 2002 and 2003 Open winner had been kidnapped and replaced by a poor clone.

Vliegen, who has now won both of their encounters, was all over the gangly Brazilian, smothering the latter's usually dazzling assortment of shots with an impressive variety of his own, featuring well-executed drop shots and consistent baseline campaigns.

Still, that hardly explained the odd phenomenon across the court as the sluggish Saretta appeared out of sorts.

Slow to get to the ball and spraying his shots anywhere but where they ought to have been, the Island favourite looked sorry for himself, pouting and repeatedly cursing under his breath.

The set was over before the midday crowd could settle in the surrounding terraces and bleachers, the Belgian Express motoring through game after game to reap the opening rewards without reply from the opposition.

Stirred from his stupor - or whatever spell he was under - Saretta mounted a sterling comeback in the second set, relieved fans cheering his every point and previously-missing commitment to chase down each ball.

In an about-turn, the former champion galloped to a 4-0 advantage - holding serve for the first time in the match and then breaking his wily foe before repeating the sequence. It was as if the Saretta of old had escaped capture and returned to repair his dented reputation.

Yes, there were the fluid forehands and backhands and that lithe yet purposeful movement blending with gutsy determination. A minor hiccup at 5-1, with Vliegen - who had clearly paid the price for relaxing - retrieving one break, failed to derail Saretta who broke back promptly to seal the set and ensure a third.

Alas, the demons in Saretta's game haunted him again with Vliegen earning a triple break in the third game. The latter would not be denied and happily accepted two unforced errors from the former Bermuda Open conqueror to go up 2-1 before holding comfortably in the next game.

The back-and-forth duel continued on serve - though Saretta diced perilously with dropping further behind and was forced to save six break points in two games - until the conclusion. More often than not, Vliegen had an answer for whatever Saretta tried and whenever the latter scored a point his rival would somehow come up with two in response.

Erratic and lacklustre in the closing games, Saretta saved some face by not surrendering the match on his service as a resurgent Vliegen bore down on victory with a combination of sublime strokes and raw power, one of his missile-like smashes nearly crucifying a ballboy.

“I knew it was going to be tough but when I won the first set 6-0 it was like he was a little sleepy on the court and I thought ‘Yeah, it's going to be okay'. Suddenly he woke up and started playing much better than in the first set and it was getting tougher even though I had chances in the second set,” said the 22-year-old winner who celebrated as a Saretta backhand return sailed adrift of the baseline to cement his triumph.

“The third set was a great fight between us. We were fighting for every shot and ball. These matches always finish 6-4 or 7-5 in the third set. There were only a few mistakes.

“I did not win a match for the last two months and I was in a big hole and a bit lonely. It was getting dark in there so I feel good now with the way I'm playing. Mentally I am fine on the court and going for every ball.

“Before I would get negative and disappointed quickly but me and my new coach are working on that.”

Though ecstatic to be among the last eight, Vliegen insisted it would be premature to think about lifting the trophy.

“If I'm still here on Sunday I will be really glad and, for sure, I'm going to try to win but today I'm not thinking about that. I have a good draw but everybody is playing well and on any day anything can happen.”

A sullen Saretta chastised himself for an amateurish display.

“I didn't like the way I started. I played so badly in the first set but I was fighting and I gave everything I had and I lost. That's the end. I'm disappointed but that's okay. Next week is another match,” he said philosophically.

The seasoned pro suggested that he may not have given himself enough time to recover from travelling here - arriving in Bermuda on Tuesday morning and playing his first round later that evening.

“I only had yesterday to practise and rest and I tried my best,” said the 24-year-old, vowing to come back to the place he called “a beautiful island”.

Having watched Saretta's demise, former top-ten player Thomas Enqvist was determined not to fall victim to another young gun and completed his revival to beat Juan-Pablo Guzman 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

The latter, a compact southpaw known for his scrappy style, began impressively, gliding around the baseline smoothly and raining terror on his more esteemed rival from deep with lots of looping topspin and well disguised winners. Breaks in the third and seventh games of the first set proved decisive but, if the Argentinian thought the contest was his for the taking, he was in for an extremely rude awakening.

Drawing on his full arsenal of shots, 31-year-old Enqvist rebounded superbly with the clinical calm of a man who once ranked among the sport's elite.

Protracted, long-range rallies - with intermittent drop volleys for deadly effect - wore down an increasingly frustrated Guzman as his Swedish opponent's experience came to the fore, replacing the puzzling errors which had cost him the opening set.

“I started really well but then he changed his game and it was harder for me because his shots are strong,” said Guzman.

Enqvist concurred as he munched on a banana following the second-round clash.

“I started playing too nicely with him. He is very good when he is hitting his forehand all around the court. He had a lot of spin on it. I was the one who was always behind in the points.

“I started moving better and playing my own game. I think that, as well as the early break in the second set, turned it around.”