Monday 29 September 2014 13:34, UK
Former champion David Ferrer suffered a shock three-set defeat to fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers at the Japan Open.
Ferrer, chasing a spot at the ATP World Tour Finals in November, had been seeded second for the event and had never previously lost to Granollers.
However Granollers broke the world No 5 four times en route to a 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory.
"Every day in life is different," said Ferrer, who won the title in Tokyo in 2007. "It's impossible to win all the time.
"In the second set I lost my focus and in the third he played better and took advantage. I'm sad to lose, I need to see what is going on with my game."
Fellow seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, ranked eight at the event, also fell at the first hurdle, losing 6-4 6-1 to Jack Sock.
However seventh seed Kevin Anderson held off 21-year-old Dominic Thiem to record a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory.
"He's a good player with a lot of potential," said Anderson. "I was pleased to get through. It's been a couple of weeks since I played in New York (at the US Open). Sometimes after all that time between matches it can be tough. I'm happy with how I was able to play.”
Steve Johnson held off Japanese qualifier Hiroki Moriya to win 7-6 (7-4) 6-2, Gilles Muller overcame Federico Delbonis 6-3 6-4 and Andrey Golubev secured a 6-4 6-4 win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
