The world tennis number one Roger Federer has been felled on his return to the ATP tour, beaten in three sets by the unseeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis at the Rome Masters.
Seeded through to the second round, Federer took the opening set 6-2, but the 40th ranked Latvian took the next two 6-1 7-5 as Federer committed a string of unforced errors.
The world number two Novak Djokovic made a stylish start to his campaign, blowing away Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-1 6-1 in just under an hour to reach the third round.
The defending champion Rafael Nadal will face Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber in his opening match tonight.
