Brazilians Gustavo Kuerten, Flavio Saretta, Thiago Alves, and Andre Ghem; Argentines Diego Hartfield, Guillermo Canas and Sergio Roitman; and Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui were divided into two groups in the round robin system that the Association of Professional Tennis Players (ATP) will adopt beginning in 2007.

In the first round of the competition, Roitman beat Ghem by 6-46-4 in 1 hour and 11 minutes. It was the third time the Argentinean defeated the Brazilian this year.

In the second match of the day, Brazilians struck back and Saretta had his third victory over Argentina's Hartfield in 2006, 6-2 and 6-1.

"I played miserably, which is a shame in such a beautiful scenery. I hope to be able to present a better game in the next two matches," said Hartfield.

Three-time Roland Garros champion Kuerten had a disappointing performance in his debut at the contest. He was easily overcome byEl Anayoui, who took the score to 6-3 and 6-2 within an hour of game.

"The advantage of this competition is that I will play more games," said Kuerten. He will face Hartfield on Thursday.