Ivo Karlovic has been upset 6-4 7-6 (7-4) by Juan Carlos Ferrero in the opening round of the Bank Austria-Tennis Trophy as his struggles against former number one players from Spain continued.
The fourth-seeded Croat suffered his second straight loss after he was also upset by 31-year-old Spaniard Carlos Moya in the second round at Metz last week.
Both Ferrero and Moya are are former number one players and neither has ever lost to Karlovic, who is ranked 14th. Moya has won all four of his meetings against the 29-year-old and Ferrero has won both of his.
Karlovic drilled 17 aces in the match, upping his ATP-leading total to 865, but Ferrero was equally effective on his first serve, winning 42 of 49 points.
Additionally, the 28-year-old saved both break points forced by Karlovic, whose year has been highlighted by a title at Nottingham and a win over then-number one Roger Federer in Cincinnati.
A finalist at this tournament three years ago, Ferrero could face another Croat in the second round. Ivan Ljubicic, the 2005 and 2006 champion, will meet Austria's Jurgen Melzer for the right to face the former French Open champion.
Another former champion already is through to the second round as unseeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez outlasted Argentina's Augustin Calleri, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4).
Guillermo Canas, who lost the 2004 final to Lopez, also advanced to set up a meeting with fifth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
Moya moved through to the second round as well, topping Germany's Michael Berrer, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6).
Czech qualifier Jan Hernych rallied for a 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Croatia's Roko Karanusic and could face top-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland next.
World number three Novak Djokovic, who defeated Wawrinka in the final last season, has not entered this year.
Meanwhile in Sweden, eighth-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers has crashed out of the Stockholm Open at the first hurdle as he lost 2-6 6-4 6-2 to Japan's Kei Nishikori.
In one of only three games on the opening day of the tournament, Nishikori defied the odds to set up a second-round meeting with Slovak Dominik Hrbaty, a 6-2 6-1 winner over Pablo Andujar.
Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti also moved through with a 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 triumph over Ivan Navarro of Spain.
The favourites get underway on Tuesday (Sweden time).
Thomas Johansson is the home favourite as he looks to win another title with his career moving into its twilight years.
The 33-year-old has not claimed a singles championship since October 2005, but he has been energised by the partisan crowd here in the past.
Johansson won this hardcourt tournament in 2000 and 2004, was a runner-up in 1998 and has reached the quarter-finals or better in seven of his 12 appearances.
A former top-10 player currently ranked 87th, Johansson will open up against seventh-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes.
The only top-30 player in the field is Argentina's David Nalbandian, who will face American Bobby Reynolds in the first round.
The world number seven is top-seeded here, but has endured his share of upsets this season with nine of his 13 losses coming against players ranked outside the top 25.
Among those setbacks was an opening-round defeat to 139th-ranked Frank Dancevic at Wimbledon and a second-round loss in Miami at the hands of then-No. 311 Xavier Malisse.
Mario Ancic of Croatia is the second seed and Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, a finalist here in 2001 and 2006, is the