Time caught up with old stagers Gustavo Kuerten and Carlos Moya at the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday as Andy Murray and Sam Querrey struck a double blow for the next generation. Kuerten, a triple French Open champion and twice a winner here, slumped to a 6-1, 6-2 first round defeat to Croatian Ivan Ljubicic while fellow 31-year-old Moya, the 1998 Monte Carlo and Roland Garros champion, fell to 20-year-old Querrey 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. Former world number one Kuerten, who has played just 14 matches in the last three years because of a crippling hip injury, is on a farewell tour which will culminate in an emotional finale at the French Open. On Monday's evidence, it will be a brief affair for a player now ranked at 1,145 in the world. The 1999 and 2001 Monte Carlo champion dropped serve twice to lose the first set and, with two more breaks in the second set, Ljubicic romped to victory in just 51 minutes and will face Australian Open champion and third seed Novak Djokovic in the next round. “It's still enjoyable,” said Kuerten. “It's nice to play the tournaments again where I have such great memories of what's happened in the past. “I'm happy to be able to play a few more tournaments. There's a nice part of my life to come but it's hard to play in the condition I am in.” Now Kuerten has just two events left - Barcelona next week and then Roland Garros. Murray, the 14th seed and also just 20, buried the painful memory of his last visit to Monaco with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez. Croatian wildcard Mario Ancic also moved into the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Czech qualifier Ivo Minar to set-up a meeting with second seed Rafael Nadal. World number one Roger Federer, who was laid low by glandular fever earlier this year, arrives in Monte Carlo buoyed by having won a first title of the season at Estoril. Federer will open his campaign against either France's Gilles Simon or Spanish qualifier Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo. Also reaching the second round was the 2002 and 2003 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, the 13th seed, who put out France's Michael Llodra 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1. But Germany's Tommy Haas was forced to retire against Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus because of a shoulder injury while trailing 6-1, 3-0. France's Paul-Henri Mathieu, the ninth seed, was also a first day casualty losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic. Gael Monfils was France recorded a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. Murray next meets Italy's Filippo Volandri, who defeated Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-2 6-3, and faces a possible third-round encounter with world number three Novak Djokovic if the Serb beats Ljubicic on Tuesday. - AgenciesPujol stuns Blake In Houston, Spain's Marcel Granollers-Pujol rallied from three games down in the final set to upset top seeded American James Blake 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to claim the US Men's Clay Court Championship and his first ATP title on Sunday. __
