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Paes sets up meeting with Pioline

Sandy Hurst

Tuesday was only Day Two. But the Gold Flake Open, the biggest tennis event to have aced Indian shores, lost most of its glitter as four of the top six flakes ... oops seeds ... that were expected to bloom, blossom and boom over a week in glorious conditions fell by the wayside.

Top gun and world no. 2 Yevgeny Kafelnikov jetted in in a Citation aircraft but crashed, nay nosedived, on the resurfaced centre court at the Nungambakkam tennis centre. A mere 65 minutes was all it took for the celebrated Russian to crash out, a 4-6, 2-6 defeat at the hands of 122-ranked Michal Tabara of Czechoslovakia.

But before that stunning story, there were two more major upheavals - one through default and the other by way of another sensational upset. Carlos Moya, the 22nd-ranked Spaniard who was seeded third here, was ejected before hitting a ball due to a stress fracture of the back, suffered at the U.S. Open.

Then Byron Black, the defending champion from Zimbabwe and seeded fifth on his 67th-ranking on the ATP Tour, was sent packing by a qualifier from Britain, Jamie Delgado at 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).

And this year's edition of this prestigious tournament could not have had such an early disastrous start. But no. 6 Laurence Tielman of Italy was comprehensively beaten 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 by a German, Markus Hantschk, ranked 128 in the world.

However, earlier, Leander Paes warmed the cockles of the home crowd when hammering out a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) triumph over Frenchman Julien Boutter. It was a big test for the crown prine of Indian tennis. But it came as a fresh breath after the defeat on Monday night of national hardcourt champion, Sunil Kumar.

After winning the first set rather easily, the Indian found the going tough in the second as Boutter came in to the net repeatedly to take the set to the tie-breaker.

And as the day turned to dusk, Cedric Pioline, the second seeded Frenchman who is ranked 22 in the world, restored a semblance of order to a boat, a tournament, rocked by a series of upsets when belting out a comprehensive and clinical 6-3, 6-1 win over Israel's Eyal Ryan, a qualifier.

Leander, given a wild card, , now takes on the Pioline, the only 'Top Gun' left in the tournament. And going by the performances of the two, the darling of Indian crowds, will need to up his performance a notch or two and more if he is to make headway in a tournament that is now almost shorn of its glitter.