Lopez puts Agassi out in the cold

Age and the cold weather caught up with Andre Agassi at the Hamburg Masters yesterday.

Age and the cold weather caught up with Andre Agassi at the Hamburg Masters yesterday.

The 35-year-old American's first-round defeat by the unseeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez on a fridge-like centre court at the Rothenbaum spoiled Agassi's French Open preparations following an encouraging run to the Rome Masters semi-finals last week.

The wintry temperature left the eighth seed Agassi stiff-limbed and unable to respond to a more adept claycourt opponent.

"I don't come into these conditions feeling like it's very good for my game," said Agassi, who lost 6-2, 7-6. "I'm not used to that. My body doesn't respond well in these temperatures.

"It's not the same, the movement and the work that goes into the shots, everything is so much more difficult. It was a difficult day."

The Argentinian ninth seed David Nalbandian also went out in the first round, losing 7-6, 7-5 to the Swede Robin Soderling, but his compatriots, Gaston Gaudio and Guillermo Coria, both won easily.