Bjorn Phau tormented Julien Varlet into submission during first round action at the XL Capital Bermuda Open yesterday.

The German took advantage of a first set injury to Frenchman Varlet's right ankle, making his opponent run from back to front until he was forced to throw in the towel.

The injury was sustained as Varlet was stretching for a forehand return at the back of the court with Phau leading 3-2. As he went to make the shot the right hander lost his grip on the clay surface and fell to the ground screaming in agony.

Umpire Jake Garner rushed over to speak to the player, who by this time was laying on his back clutching his ankle.

When it was clear the injury was a serious one, the trainer was summoned and Varlet was first examined where he fell, and then assisted back to his chair.

Once a trainer is on court, ATP rules allow him to evaluate the situation for as long as necessary.

An ankle sprain was diagnosed and then the trainer had three minutes to carry out the treatment - on this occasion taping Varlet up.

The Frenchman was then allowed time to redress and clean the clay from his shirt before continuing.

Although severely hampered by the injury, and unable to put any weight on his trailing foot, Varlet ironically won the sixth game to tie the match.

Phau then held serve and was love-30 up on Varlet's serve in the eighth game when the Frenchman, forced to come in and chase drop shots, gave up, handing the German the victory.

"It's always bad when someone is injured in a match," said Phau. "It is very bad for him because he travelled all this way and wanted to go on to Houston. It's bad luck and I wish him all the best."

However, despite sympathy for his opponent, Phau said he had to seize any advantage he could, even if it meant taking on the role of a tormentor.

"I am not here to be a nice guy on the court, I try to win," he said. "At the end I tried to move him to make him run, played a lot of drop shots and that maybe made him take the decision to retire."

Phau felt it had been a match he was capable of winning, even prior to Varlet's unfortunate accident.

"I played him in Chennai (India) this year in the last round of the qualifiers and lost to him in a close three sets, so I knew I had a chance," he said.

Asked whether it was an advantage or a disadvantage to play a very quick match, Phau said: "On the one hand you are less tired, but, on the other, you want to win having played a whole match.

"But I have a doubles match this evening (last night) so I can get a full one then."

For Varlet, the quick exit means a change to his calendar.

"I wanted to play well but my objective is the French Open in May," he said. "It is better if I stop for a week now. I was going to go to Houston next week but I think I will take the flight tomorrow (today) and go home and see my doctor and we will see what happens."

The fact he had beaten Phau so recently made the way he left the tournament all the more frustrating.

"I played him in January and I won and so I had a chance to play another good match but that's life," Varlet said.

In yesterday's other daytime match, Croatia's Zeljko Krajan was a straight sets winner over French qualifier Maxime Boye.

Krajan, who gave away significant height to his opponent but possessed the skills to compensate, saw off Boye 6-4, 6-3.

Both players were broken in their opening service games and Krajan broke again in the third to gain a lead he would not relinquish.

Boye had plenty of power and when on target some of his forehands were devastating, but on many occasions they lacked accuracy and the more patient Croat was able to forge ahead and ultimately claim the scalp.

"It was the first time I had played on the green clay for five or six years and it is very different than the red clay," Krajan said. "Last week I played in Morocco and the court and balls were very fast. Here, it is totally the opposite - the courts are slow and the balls seem to be pretty heavy."

Despite the conditions, Krajan felt he was always in command of proceedings.

"I was feeling pretty much in control," he said. "He got an early break when I lost my serve but I broke him again and I felt pretty OK all through the match."

Krajan said he was improving venue after venue and hoped to progress through the rounds at Coral Beach.

"I played pretty good in Casablanca last week, second round to (Nicolas) Massu (of Chile) who is playing here. My form is getting up there and I expect to play well in this tournament," he said.