the XL Open with a display of extremes.

The 18-year-old, the youngest player in the tournament, pummelled the Belgian number two with powerful serves and tormented him with shots of supreme delicacy during his 7-6 (8), 7-5 victory last night.

The defeat capped a miserable day for the Rochus' brothers, Christophe having also fallen at the first hurdle earlier in the day.

After a rain delay of more than three hours, the match finally got underway at around 8.30 p.m.

The Argentinian, who turned professional in 1999, served notice of his intentions immediately, taking the first game.

Rochus replied in the second, but a superb passing shot in the third restored the South American's advantage.

Despite being by far the smaller of the two players, Rochus showed he could make his serve hurt too and he took the fourth game to level at 2-2.

The next four games went with serve as the wind began to whistle around the court.

Acasuso faced break-point in the ninth game, but managed to hold on and in doing so kept the pressure on his rival.

Rochus could not have expected the Argentinian to make the game so difficult for him and at the end of a number of points he was left standing with his hands on his hips.

A tiebreak ensued, Acasuso making the decisive breakthrough and taking it 10-8 to clinch the first set.

A clenched fist and gritted teeth illustrated the young man's determination and was a portent of what was to come as the match drew on.

The first two games of the second set went with serve but the momentum swung away from the European in the third.

Having conceded a point for 15-all, Rochus picked up a spare ball and launched it into the trees lining the side of the court.

That earned him a ball abuse warning from American umpire Roger Pennington and shortly after there was worse to come.

He doubled faulted to give Acasuso break-point and lost the game on the next serve.

At the changeover Rochus declined to sit down, opting instead to have a conversation with a wall.

It appeared the psychology might have worked, the next six games going with serve before Rochus attempted to put his own stamp on the match.

He broke the Argentinian in the 10th game, levelling the set at five-all and it looked as if it might go to a decider.

However, Acasuso had other ideas, breaking the Belgian in the 11th to set up the game that would decide the tie.

After four unanswered points, the player ranked 176th in the world at the end of last year, had his victory and a place in the next round.

For Rochus, another week brings another tournament and he heads out with his brother to Atlanta in the hope of getting back on the road to success.