ROME, May 12: Spain’s Conchita Martinez pulled off the first surprise of the Rome Masters on Monday, beating ninth seed and 2001 champion Jelena Dokic in the first round 6-4 3-6 7-5.

The 31-year-old Spaniard — who won the tournament four times running between 1993 and 1996 — had lost the last five meetings between the players, including the Rome semi-final two years ago that Dokic won on her way to taking the title.

But some erratic hitting by the 20-year-old allowed Martinez to break in the 10th game of the match and establish a one-set lead.

Dokic found her range in the second set, striking hard flat groundstrokes off both wings to break Martinez in the seventh and ninth games and level the match.

Twice in the decider the ninth seed came from a break down, but two double faults and a netted backhand put Martinez 6-5 ahead with a chance to serve for the match.

The Spaniard won the encounter on her fourth match point, when a lofted forehand over the baseline gifted her victory, much to Dokic’s disgust.

The defeat extended Dokic’s rollercoaster start to 2003.

Quarter-final finishes in her first two tournaments of the year were followed by first-up losses in Antwerp, Scottsdale and Indian Wells. Last week in Berlin she fell in the third round to Uzbekistan’s Iroda Tulyaganova.

Her opponent, meanwhile, was happy just to be winning again, having gone out in the first round in Berlin.

Asked whether she enjoyed competing against the new generation of power-players, the experienced Spaniard said: “No, not really. I have to run a lot, they hit from side to side, very flat strokes.

Results (x denotes seed):