Bermuda's James Collieson was outclassed but far from disgraced as he made history at Coral Beach yesterday.

It was a baptism of fire at ATP Challenger tournament level for the 24-year-old Bermuda Davis Cup player as American Cecil Mamiit saw him off 6-0, 6-2 in 54 minutes.

Collieson, a wildcard entry in the XL Capital Bermuda Open, became the first local to play in the main draw singles in the tournament's eight-year history.

Mamiit, currently number 78 in the ATP Champions Race blew a nervous Collieson off court in the first set, taking it 6-0 in just 20 minutes.

But in a second set which lasted nearly twice as long, Collieson settled down and started to hit the ball more cleanly and cut down on the errors.

At times Collieson even managed to overpower a man who defeated the great Andre Agassi two years ago in San Jose.

However, the Californian's relentless consistency and better movement around the court meant he never looked in danger of letting victory slip.

In last night's action, Chris Woodruff became the third seed to fall in the first round, as he crashed out to Brazilian qualifer Flavio Saretta, 7-5, 6-4.

Collieson admitted nerves had hampered him in the first set.

"I was ridiculously tight -- I just couldn't think,'' said Collieson.

"Regular shots were just flying off my racket without much control.

"I felt OK when I went out there. I was loose when I was warming up before and hitting the ball really well. But somehow it (nerves) just sneaks in, not having experienced this type of thing before.

"The first set was sort of disastrous, so I knew I had to try and do better.

'' Collieson felt Mamiit was probably the toughest opponent he had ever faced and he had learned things he needed to improve on.

"Shots that are usually good shots come back as good shots. It was not overwhelming, but a little bit.

"He didn't even have to do much, he's used to this sort of thing. It was like a practice match for him.

"Ideally, I would like to have been a little bit better, but I wasn't embarrassed or anything.

"I'm definitely glad I had the chance to do this, just to see how I'd react.

I guess it's only natural I would react like this, as it's the first time I've done this.

"This is a top-notch Challenger, arguably the best in the world -- that's what some of the players are saying.'' Collieson went into the match with a painful blister on his right hand which had prevented him from practising for two days before.

Occasionally during the match, he flexed his right hand as if in pain, but he refused to make excuses.

"It's sore, but it did not affect my shots at all, it just got a bit stiff at times,'' he said.

The first point did nothing to calm Collieson's nerves as Mamiit sent an ace whistling past him. And the American was never even taken to deuce in the first set by his error-prone opponent who claimed only the odd point.

That all changed in the first game of the second set, as Collieson hit a few rasping forehands and forced the first deuce of the match.

Despite trading fierce groundstrokes with Mamiit, Collieson continued to lose games and at 0-3, the dreaded `double bagel' (6-0, 6-0) scoreline looked on the cards.

But Collieson then produced his best serving of the match and a howitzer of a forehand winner to win his first game, to love.

In the next game, the increasingly competitive Collieson earned his first break point and but for the net cord which intercepted his backhand pass down the unguarded line, he would have converted it.

Mamiit eventually held, but Collieson then bagged his second game, forcing the American on the defensive with a succession of heavily top-spun groundstrokes to delight the home crowd.

Collieson came off to a warm ovation and the knowledge that he now has an ATP Tour point which will facilitate entry into pro tournaments this summer.

Woodruff was fancied to go far, but in Saretta, he faced an opponent who had already come through three qualifying matches and looked happier on the clay.

Collieson bows out From Page 17 The Brazilian consistently outlasted Woodruff in the baseline exchanges and hit some unerringly accurate, double-fisted backhands down the line which frequently left the US Davis Cup player stranded at the net.

Woodruff made his dislike of clay plain afterwards.

"This was my first match on clay this year and I had no expectations,'' said Woodruff. "Everybody has a chance on clay -- even guys ranked in the 800s in the world can win tournaments.

"There is a lot of topsoil on the court and it played extremely slow.'' James Collieson: Beaten but not disgraced against American Cecil Mamiit in yesterday's XL Capital Bermuda Open first round match at Coral Beach Club.