TENNIS in DEPTH.

US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro was beaten on his return to action in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The top seed, playing his first match since beating Roger Federer in a memorable final at Flushing Meadows last month, was stunned 6-4 6-4 by French qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

The win was Roger-Vasselin’s first on the main ATP Tour this season. He is currently ranked just 189th in the world.

He described his win as “unbeliveable”.

Del Potro, meanwhile, said he had felt less than 100 per cent during the contest.

“I had a little bit of jet-lag and a stomach ache but that’s not the reason I lost,” he said.

Next up for Roger-Vasselin, whose father Christophe reached the French Open semi-final in 1983, is a second-round clash with Austrian Jurgen Melzer, who beat Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer 7-6 (7/4) 6-3.

Del Potro’s defeat leaves France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon as the highest remaining seeds.

Eighth seed Lleyton Hewitt also progressed on Tuesday, beating local star Tatsuma Ito 6-1 7-5.

“My real focus now is the Australian Open next year,” said Hewitt. “I am training very hard to get as fit and mentally strong for next season.”

Fifth seed Tomas Berdych beat local boy Go Soeda 6-2 6-4

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