Top seeds washed out in rainy Gstaad

GSTAAD, Switzerland, July 11 (Reuters) Russian top seeds Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny both suffered first-round exits today as persistent rain continued to dog the Swiss Open.

Davydenko, the world number five, bowed out in just 12 minutes after resuming his rain-interrupted match against 20-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils with the pair tied at 5-5 in the deciding set.

The Russian first seed had beaten Monfils at Wimbledon last Tuesday in a third-round match also held over by rain, but was unable to repeat the feat in Gstaad and was beaten 3-6 6-4 7-5.

Resuming play with two unforced errors, Davydenko was forced to defend two break points before conceding a crucial break with an over-hit shot from the baseline.

Monfils then suffered a few wobbles of his own, offering Davydenko three chances to break back.

An ace and two service winners saw the Frenchman dig his way out of trouble with two further aces finally completing a hard-fought win.

''I felt very tight when we stopped playing on Tuesday,'' said Monfils who had squandered a chance to serve out at 5-4 shortly before the overnight rain break.

''But I could see my errors so today I just tried to be more focused. I worked a lot on my service, my returns and my reactions before the match because I knew it would all be very quick today.'' Youzhny suffered a surprise 6-4 6-3 loss at the hands of Austrian world number 65 Stefan Koubek.

The world number 14, who came to Gstaad on a run of good form including a win in Rotterdam, finals in Munich and Dubai and at least the quarter-finals at four other tournaments, failed to convert any of nine break points.

Koubek, who had won only three matches in his previous 10 tournaments, did better on the big points -- grabbing a single break from three opportunities in each set.

French third seed Richard Gasquet was never in danger of a similar upset, staying on course to defend the title he won here last year with a 6-3 6-4 win over Spanish world number 93 Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-3 6-4.

For a second day running, organisers were forced to move part of the singles programme on to spare courts at a nearby sports centre in an effort to get back on schedule.

REUTERS SSC RK2148