SYDNEY, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero's preparations for the Australian Open hit a snag Tuesday at the Adidas International in Sydney.
The men's top seed from Spain, Ferrero was ousted by Australian wild card Chris Guccione, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), in the first round, while the second-seeded Kim Clijstersof of Belgium withdrew from the event with an ankle injury.
Guccione, nicknamed "mini-Scud" because his blistering serve has drawn comparisons to that of countryman Mark "Scud" Philippoussis, closed out the victory with his 19th ace.
Ferrero had saved three match points but had a double fault to give Guccione, ranked 447th in the world and playing in only his third ATP tournament, another chance to serve out the match when leading 7-6 in the tiebreaker.
"To get a win over the No. 3 player in the world just gives me a lot of confidence," the 18-year-old Guccione said. "The first few points I was nervous. Fortunately I served really well which got me a few free points. Then the confidence just kept growing and growing."
Guccione will play South African Wayne Ferreira, who beat American James Blake, 6-2, 6-4.
