Sargis Sargsian was blown off court by an Australian whirlwind called Andrew Ilie as the curse of the number one seed struck for the second year running at the XL Bermuda Open yesterday.

The power-packed Ilie, a bundle of energy with the forearms of Popeye and treating every ball as if it was a Pom, blasted his way past the top-ranked player in the tournament for a straight sets 6-1, 6-4 victory.

It set up a second round match with the tall, strong German Michael Kohlmann which will not be for the fainthearted. "Yes,'' agreed Ilie afterwards.

"Kohlmann's got a big serve but hopefully I can find a solution to that. I like to give it a bit of a hit as well, but I don't like to boast about it.'' Giving it a bit of a hit is about as big an understatement as you'll find.

Sargsian is renowned as a fine retriever but even he couldn't find the right answers to shots almost frightening in their intensity. In the end, Ilie just wore him down.

Sargsian, losing finalist in the tournament last year, would have hoped for a gentler introduction to this year's event but he went the way of Jason Stoltenberg, top seed last year, who was also beaten in the first round.

"I felt pretty comfortable out there.'' added the Australian. "Towards the end I got a little bit nervous and a bit tentative but otherwise it was a pretty good win.

"I get a bit tentative towards the end of a match when I haven't played for a while -- and I haven't played a tournament for about three weeks.

"And it's always tough to come into a first match against a tough player like Sarge, so I was really happy to get out of it.'' Ilie, at 200 ranked 126 places below the Armenian, was in no sense overawed by the judgement of the ATP Tour computer.

"Lately, like in the Aussie Open and the tournaments I played after that, I always ended up playing the number one seed or the player who won the tournament,'' he said, "so I've really got used to that.

"To be honest, I'm really content with coming out here and doing my best and seeing what happens. If someone plays too good for me, like Rios did in the Australian Open, well that's just that.'' Another seed also bit the dust yesterday -- the number eight Dutchman Dennis van Sheppingen, who was beaten convincingly by 1996 winner Mal Washington.

Washington, appearing on a packed number seven court after overnight and morning rain had delayed play on centre court until 4.00 p.m., never looked seriously troubled as he ran out a 6-2, 6-3 winner. Van Sheppingen only showed serious signs of life when his departure from the competition seemed inevitable.

Then, he produced a number of rasping, deep ground strokes on either side which gave Washington food for thought. At 5-1 down he saved a match point with a superb drive down the line after reaching wide on his forehand for a ball that seemed to have him beaten. He went on to break his opponent's serve for the first time and then held his own to make it 5-3.

But Washington wrapped it up in the next game for a comfortable win.

Afterwards, the former Wimbledon finalist said: "I was pretty happy with the performance. When you have a good win over a good player in the fashion that I did, it feels good.'' But he admitted: "I didn't know what to expect (from Van Sheppingen) because I'd never played him before and never practised with him before. So when I first went out there a lot of it was just feeling him out and seeing what he could do on the court.

"My brother played him a few weeks ago but I don't like to get too many tips from him because how he played against my brother could be totally different from how he plays against me. Actually my brother did give me one or two pointers -- but they turned out to be wrong.'' Washington's victory sets him up for a game with qualifier Lars Jonsson, who followed up his win over Bermuda's Michael Way by disposing of wild card Mark Knowles, of the Bahamas, in three sets on the adjacent court five.

If he comes through that, he could meet number two seed Richey Reneberg in the last eight. But with brother Mashiska, who won his third match of the tournament yesterday by beating Denmark's Frederik Fetterlein -- ranked more than 300 places above him -- in straight sets, there is the possibility of a set-to between siblings.

Last night, another seed to take Centre Court, number four Oliver Gross, disposed of a gritty Mikael Pernfors 6-2, 6-4. Gross hits like another German of note, Boris Becker, but Pernfors ran down everything and responded with a dazzling array of shots you'd expect from a crafty veteran. "He hit some weird shots,'' said Gross afterwards. "He even had a forehand slice, which I've never even seen before.'' Pernfors was the first winner of the Open and gained entry as a wild card. But he showed he hasn't lost his competitive spirit, maintaining a running conversation with the chair umpire over a pair of let calls and battling from 0-3 down in the second set.

After holding his serve with a teasing drop shot, he broke Gross and held again to draw even. Catching his opponent coming to the net three straight times, Pernfors won the eighth game, then fell behind 4-5 and staved off three match points before bowing out to loud applause.

In other matches yesterday, Germany's Dirk Dier saw off Brazilian qualifier Richard Brostowicz 6-4, 6-4. And Argentina's Marcelo Charpentier moved into the second round after a tough battle with qualifier Lars Rehmann ended in the third set when the German was forced to retire with a pulled back muscle.

Photos by Tony Cordeiro ILIE THE KID -- Australia's Andrew Ilie gave the ball some rough treatment during his stunning victory over number one seed Sargis Sargsian in the Bermuda Open yesterday.

THE COLOUR PURPLE -- Marcelo Charpentier, his locks dyed purple, had a hair-raising encounter with German qualifier Lars Rehmann before coming through after Rehmann retired with an injured back in the third set.