Gasquet and Nalbandian both beaten

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HALLE, Germany -- Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan upset Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-6 6-4 in one of two surprises in the first round of the Halle Open.

Qureshi was playing in the main draw of an ATP tournament for the first time this year after battling through qualifying on the Halle grass.

The 27-year-old from Lahore, ranked outside the top 300 but a grasscourt specialist, edged the first set 10-8 on the tiebreak and went on to complete victory in one hour 38 minutes for his first ATP singles win.

"It's not about winning my first round match, it's about beating a player ranked just outside the top 10," said Qureshi.

"The hard work for the last 12 years is paying off, I learned a lot last year from some of the mistakes I made and I just kept telling myself I could do it.

"I went out with the clear plan of moving him around and it paid off.

"I had tie-breakers in both sets of my last two qualifying games over the weekend, so when it got to 6-6 in the first-set tie-breaker, I knew I had a good chance.

"Having normally played at Queen's and in Nottingham, I only decided to switch to Halle last year and the move has paid off in only my second appearance.

"I really enjoyed it last year, but I went out in the first round, but I am hoping to stay a lot longer this year."

His beaten opponent, Gasquet, looked stunned by the defeat, but said his Pakistani opponent deserved the win.

"I don't really know what went wrong," said the French number one.

"He seemed much happier on grass, having played the qualifiers at the weekend, he really played well and served well.

"I got just one break-point, while he got several. I don't feel like I played badly, but I am very disappointed to go out in the first round, of course.

The day ended with another unexpected result, as seventh-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian was beaten by Marc Gicquel of France 5-7 6-2 6-4 in the final match on Stadium Court.

Second seed Nikolay Davydenko had to overcome a few problems before coming through his first-round match against Austrian Juergen Melzer 7-6 4-6 6-2.

The Russian, who had won only one match on grass before, was hit in the eye in the final game but held on to win in exactly two hours.

"My eye is sore but I will do my best to recover," Davydenko said in a news conference. "But if my eye gets swollen and blue I have to seriously consider if I can play."

Roger Federer, the world number one and top seed, withdrew on Monday, citing fatigue after his French Open final defeat by Rafael Nadal the day before.

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Qureshi had played three qualifying games over the weekend.

Gasquet and Nalbandian both beaten

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