Nalbaldian Falls In Estoril On Return From Injury

Nalbandian broke back and seemed on course to take control of the match but lost his serve again before Capdeville took the set.

Argentine David Nalbandian lost 6-2 6-2 to 91st-ranked Chilean Paul Capdeville on his return from injury in the Estoril Open first round on Monday.

Nalbandian, 19th in the ATP rankings and fifth seed at Estoril, picked up a hip injury at the Barcelona Open last month and pulled out of his quarter-final against world number one Rafael Nadal.

The Argentine, who won in Estoril in 2002 and 2006, was sluggish from the start and Capdeville raced into a 4-1 lead.

Nalbandian broke back and seemed on course to take control of the match but lost his serve again before Capdeville took the set.

The second set followed the same pattern and the Chilean converted his first match point.

"I like this tournament and it is unfortunate I couldn't show my best tennis. Today I just couldn't move well and never found my rhythm. The injury still bothers me. I have to keep working on getting better," Nalbandian told reporters.

Top-seeded Gilles Simon booked his place in the second round with a 6-3 7-6 win over world number 82 Richard Kendrick of the U.S.

The Frenchman, who has dropped one spot to eighth in the world rankings, was given a wildcard to enter the main draw and will face either 2005 champion Gaston Gaudio or Italy's Fabio Fognini in the second round.