Down and out early 'Down Under'

MELBOURNE, Australia -- For two weeks, Jennifer Capriati stayed out of sunlight, recovering from surgery to her eyes.\nShe even considered skipping the Australian Open but felt an obligation to play as the two-time defending champion.\nCapriati certainly didn't look like a Grand Slam winner Monday, her game simply collapsing midway through a first-round 2-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 loss to 90th-ranked Marlene Weingartner of Germany.\nNo defending women's champion had lost in the first round of this Grand Slam tournament in the Open era.\n"I'm not trying to make excuses, that's for sure," Capriati said. "But I have to say it had a lot to do with my preparation for coming here."\nCapriati's ouster came on a day when Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport won, as did three-time winner Andre Agassi.\nCapriati figures she still needs up to a month to get back in shape after the operation. \n"Probably, if I wasn't the defending champion, I wouldn't have shown up," she said.\nCapriati struggled with her serve but opened a 6-2, 4-2 lead. Then Weingartner began finding the range.\n"She was just hitting some great shots," Capriati said. "I just felt the momentum swing, and mentally and physically I wasn't strong enough."\nWeingartner reached match point with a forehand serve return down the line. She then hit deep to the corner, and Capriati sent the ball into the net.\n"I think I deserved it," Weingartner said. "I played really well, and I just went for it."\nWeingartner was playing her first match on center court in a Grand Slam tournament.\n"I really like this atmosphere," she said. "But I just needed a little bit of time to get into it."\nCapriati's eye condition is known as pterygiums, a growth on the cornea caused by exposure to the sun.\n"I couldn't see properly, and I guess they were getting worse," she said.\nShe had surgery after the WTA Tour Championships in November, resulting in stitches in both eyes.\n"For two weeks, basically, I was in the dark, because I couldn't be in the sunlight. My eyes were too sensitive," she said.\nLast year, Capriati won the Australian Open final in three sets as Martina Hingis wilted in the heat. This time, she gave herself credit "for being strong enough to just come and give my best and try to fight no matter what happens."\nThe last defending men's champion to lose in the first round at the Australian Open was Boris Becker in 1997. Agassi, the 1995, 2000 and 2001 champion, didn't even get to the first round last year. He went home with a wrist injury from a tuneup event.\nThis time, Agassi scored a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Brian Vahaly, a former All-American at Virginia.\n"It has, unfortunately, been a lot longer than I wish it was. It was good to get out there again," Agassi said.\nHe is seeded second behind Lleyton Hewitt, trying to become the first Australian champion here since Mark Edmondson in 1976.\nVenus Williams, seeded second to sister Serena in the women's draw, shook off the rust of a two-month layoff, using a strong serve to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-2.\nSerena defeated Venus last year in the finals of the French Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon. She missed her chance for a true Grand Slam -- all four majors in one calendar year -- when she twisted her ankle on the eve of last year's Australian Open and didn't enter.\nAsked about beating Serena in this tournament, Venus said: "I wouldn't exactly say that's my goal. My goal is to be my best. I guess if Serena wins a Slam, then I'll be there congratulating her."\nDavenport advanced with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over French wild-card entry Camille Pin. Davenport, a former No. 1 now seeded ninth, hasn't won a major tournament since the Australian Open in 2000 and missed most of last year because of knee surgery.\n"I felt like I've come back a lot better than I thought I would," she said. "I'm actually ecstatic with where I am in my game"