World No 8 David Nalbandian said he was racing to be fit for the season's first Grand Slam after crashing out of the Chennai Open against little-known Kristian Pless on Tuesday.

The second seed from Argentina blamed a long-standing tendonitis problem in his left leg for the 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 opening-round upset in his first match of the year.

"I have had this injury since last year and it affected me a lot today," said Nalbandian, who turned 25 on Monday.

"Hopefully I will recover soon but it is too early to say if I will be fit for the Australian Open."

Nalbandian has a distinguished record at the Australian Open, reaching last year's semi-final after three consecutive last-eight defeats.

The 25-year-old Pless, ranked 84 and still looking for his first title on the circuit, fought back from a set down and then 0-3 in the deciding third set to record his maiden win over a top-10 player.

The Dane broke in the third set's fifth game and again in the 11th to dump Nalbandian out of the $416,000 event.

"I was very happy the way I played," he said. "It's a nice feeling to scalp a top-10 player for the first time."

Earlier world No 2 and top seed Rafael Nadal of Spain opened his 2007 campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the seasoned German Rainer Schuettler.

Schuettler, a former world No 5 and 10 years older than the 20-year-old Nadal, was on equal terms until the sixth game in which he broke the Spaniard to lead 4-2.

But Nadal, cheered by about 700 boisterous Indian fans, broke back immediately and then dominated the rest of the 85-minute match.

"The crowd here is just great and I thank them for supporting me," said Nadal. "It feels like home in Chennai."

"It was good to begin the season with a win but I am not 100 percent yet. I need some more matches for that. But I feel good with my serves and returns," he said.

Asian star Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, seeded seventh here, defeated Simone Bolelli of Italy 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 in the first round.

Paradorn, who withdrew from the singles at the Asian Games in December due to a wrist injury, said he was ready to go all the way in the Chennai Open.

"I love coming to India and hope I can win here. It would be just the start I need for the rest of the year," said the popular Thai, who won the title here in 2003.

Fifth seed Carlos Moya of Spain, a two-time champion here, overcame a slow start to beat Alexander Waske of Germany 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.

"This was my first match in more than two months so it took time for me to get into the game," said the 30-year-old Moya, a former world number one who is now ranked 43rd.

Sixth-seeded Fabrice Santoro of France went through the easy way when his rival David Skoch of the Czech Republic, suffering a back injury, conceded the match after losing the first three games.

(China Daily via AFP January 4, 2007)