Losing return for Del Potro

Juan Martin Del Potro's long-awaited return to the ATP Tour ended in a straight-sets defeat to Olivier Rochus at the Thailand Open.

Rochus ruins Argentine's ATP Tour comeback

Juan Martin Del Potro's highly-anticipated return to the ATP Tour ended in a straight-sets defeat to Olivier Rochus at the Thailand Open. The former world number four, who is playing in his first competitive match since the Australian Open in January, fell to a 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 defeat in one hour and 44 minutes. Despite the loss, Del Potro, who fired down 16 aces, showed no ill-effects of the wrist injury which has kept him out for so long. "I played a good match," Del Potro said. "I had my chances in the first-set tiebreak and he played some great points. "I'm just happy to be back on the circuit and I hope I get better and better. He played very well today." Eighth-seeded Michael Berrer of Germany also fell in the first round, losing 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain. In other ties, Belgian qualifier Ruben Bemelmans set up a second-round contest against Rafael Nadal after beating fellow qualifier Frederik Nielsen 6-2 6-3, while Israel's Dudi Sela defeated Konstantin Kravchuk of Russia 6-3 6-4.