Magnus Norman returned to Rome on Monday, the scene of his maiden Masters Series title last season, and promptly succumbed in the first round.

The Swede, seeded fifth this year, has suffered a wretched run of form but achieved a new low with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat against Vicenzo Santopadre of Italy.

The local favourite, a wildcard entry to the tournament and ranked 175 places below Norman, dealt a savage blow to the Swede's hopes finding form on his preferred surface of clay.

Norman's defeat represented the sharpest of contrasts after his imperious display overwhelmed Gustavo Kuerten in last season's Rome final.

But Santopadre, virtually unknown outside his native Italy, deserved his moment of glory.

He broke Norman in the Swede's first service game and closed out the opening set with ease before breaking again in the third and fifth games of the second set.

Norman rallied briefly in an attempt to rescue his title, but after edging back into contention at 3-5, the Swede dropped his serve yet again to hand Santopadre victory.

Norman's 30th unforced error of the match, a wayward crosscourt forehand into the tramlines, brought the contest to an end after just one hour and 18 minutes.

Rain delays

Understandably, Santopadre was jubilant after a memorable win in front of a sparse home crowd after frustrating rain delays hampered the opening day.

"I played to 150 percent of my capacity," he said. "I wasn't really tense at the end of the game. It was more that I was tired.

"But I kept my composure even after he broke back and fortunately he then gifted me a few points in the final game."

Santopadre will now face Norman's compatriot Andreas Vinciguerra in the second round after he thrashed Brazil's Fernando Meligeni 6-2, 6-0.

After relenting for a few hours to allow Santopadre his moment of glory, the rain returned to Rome later in the afternoon with only a handful of matches completed.