Open yesterday, as top ranked Belgian Olivier Rochus, his brother Christophe, rated four, and number eight Paul Goldstein all crashed out in round one.

The defeat of Olivier Rochus late last night to 18-year-old Argentinian Jose Acasuso provided the day's biggest shock (see story below).

But there had also been surprises earlier as Christophe Rochus, ranked 85 in the world, succumbed to Dutchman Peter Wessels in a battle of the Low Countries on court seven.

Wessels' mighty serve powered the world 110 to a 6-4, 6-3 victory as he thumped ace after ace past the bemused Rochus senior.

Goldstein went down 6-3, 6-4 to his old friend Mike Bryan in an all-American clash on the centre court.

And another surprise was the ease with which young American James Blake swept aside Thai number one Paradorn Srichapan 6-1, 6-0.

Rain disrupted the schedule late in the afternoon, meaning the match between Bermuda's James Collieson and Cecil Mamiit of the US was postponed until today.

Collieson's match will be the fourth on the centre court, after American wunderkind Andy Roddick plays his opening round match against Germany's Jens Knippschild.

Wessels made it two wins out of two against Rochus, whom he defeated in US Open qualifying two years ago, but acknowledged it had taken time to get his serve up to speed. "In the beginning I didn't serve well and he broke me right away,'' said Wessels. "But as the match went on I served better and better and by the end I was hitting a lot of aces and winning a lot of free points off my first serve.

"Because my serve was going so well, that gave me more confidence to go for my shots when he was serving. My serve was one of the key points in this match, I think.'' Wessels has been in good form this year, having reached an ATP semi-final and a quarter-final, but was unsure of how well he would do in his debut appearance at Coral Beach.

"It's hard to say,'' he said. "This is my first clay-court tournament of the season and it's hard to get used to the bounce of the ball and the sliding on the court and it's very tough. Neither of us played our best tennis today but I'm really happy I won.'' The Netherlands beat Germany to earn a spot in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup earlier this month and Wessels is part of the squad, but has yet to play for his country.

Both players took time to find their feet on the slippy surface in their first clay tournament of the year and it was Wessels who adapted fastest.

Five breaks of serve in the opening seven games was the result of two players struggling to find consistency.

When Wessels held serve with three booming aces to clinch the first set 6-4, it was a sign of things to come.

Rochus showed glimpses of the form which took him to the last eight here two years ago in the fourth game of the second set, as he followed a stunning inside-out forehand pass with a blazing forehand down the line to break the Dutchman's serve.

But then it all fell apart for the fourth seed in demoralising fashion as he threw away a 40-0 lead in two successive games to go 4-2 down.

Wessels hit five aces in one game, no mean feat on the slow surface, and supplemented his brute force with great patience during long rallies to eventually earn his place in the second round.

On centre court, Bryan was delighted with his triumph over old friend Goldstein as it was the first time he had played on clay since last year's French Open -- nearly a year ago.

"I feel I hit my groundstrokes well, heavy with spin,'' said Bryan. "I like more time to play and the clay favoured me a bit because he likes to hit it early.

"Paul is two years older than me, but we were juniors together and we went to Stanford University together. We practised together every day for two years.

"When we've played each other before, it's always been pretty even, but he's ranked a lot higher than me, so it's a good win for me.

"I've had a bit of a break from singles -- I've only played one match since January, because I've been doing so well in doubles in the big tournaments with my brother.'' Bryan and his twin brother Bob are top seeds in the doubles at Coral Beach and will start their campaign against Australians Scott Draper and Jordan Kerr, probably tomorrow.

Bermuda resident Pat Rafter made an appearance at Coral Beach yesterday, but not on court. The Australian was there to cheer on his his compatriots Paul Kilderry and Peter Tramachi, as they defeated Julian Knowle of Austria and Switzerland's Lorenzo Manta 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Rafter is suffering from an elbow injury which forced him to pull out of the Masters Series tournament in Monte Carlo.

Mike Bryan: The American pulled off a minor upset, ousting compatriot and close friend Paul Goldstein in straight sets.

Paul Goldstein: The American eighth seed was an early casualty on the first day of play in the Bermuda Open at Coral Beach.

James Collieson: Bermuda's number one player must wait until today to make his debut in the first round proper of the Bermuda Open after yesterday's bad weather delayed his match against Amertican Cecil Mamiit. Collieson's will be the fourth match on Centre Court today.