The Associated Press

PARIS - Four days before the start of the French Open, Andre Agassi was out on center court as dusk approached, hustling to get his game going on the dusty clay.

Agassi seemed frustrated: He cursed, he scolded himself. After one poor stroke, he pounded a ball into the last row of the upper deck. If there was a consolation, it was this: Hey, it's only practice.

He was back on that court Monday for his first-round match, and this time, each shoddy shot counted. And they just kept coming, adding up to one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history.

Agassi, the owner of eight major titles and ranked No. 1 just last year, lost 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to France's Jerome Haehnel, a career minor leaguer ranked 271st and making his tour debut after playing the qualifying rounds.

When it ended, Agassi gathered his two racket bags, slung a white warmup jacket over his shoulder, then shuffled off toward the locker room. He didn't acknowledge the fans' applause.

Was this their last chance to see the 34-year-old Agassi at the French Open?

"Hard to say. You want to come back, but you just don't know," the oldest man in the tournament said. "It's a year away. That's a long time for me right now. Chances get less every year, for sure."

Word of his loss spread quickly across Roland Garros.

"It's a shocking result. It shows every player's as good as the top on any given day," 27th-seeded Vince Spadea said after erasing nine match points against another French qualifier, Florent Serra, to win 7-5, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 9-7.

Spadea, who trailed 5-1 in the fifth set, could have faced Agassi in the third round. Andy Roddick, a 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-5 winner over Todd Martin, was slated to meet Agassi in the quarterfinals. Then again, Roddick probably wasn't looking too far ahead, knowing he'd lost his first match at the French Open the past two years.

"It's definitely nice to get a win here and not walk away from this place feeling disappointed after the first day," said the second-seeded Roddick, whose record-setting serve loses some oomph on clay.

Agassi's certainly not at the top of his game on the red surface, especially with merely one match on it all year - a loss last week to a qualifier ranked 339th. He limits his tennis travel these days, for fitness and for family time: He and wife Steffi Graf have two young children.

"At this stage of my career, I can't go around grinding, trying to get in matches, at the risk of expending the energies I do have," said Agassi, whose career record is 799-247, compared with Haehnel's 1-0.

Still, Monday's result was stunning because of how lopsided it was, where and when it happened (Agassi's earliest defeat at a major since 1998), and the opponent. In recent history, it ranks with Pete Sampras' loss to George Bastl at Wimbledon in 2002, and Lleyton Hewitt's loss to Ivo Karlovic there a year ago.

Defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, back after six weeks off with a viral infection, struggled a bit against Sandrine Testud before winning 6-4, 6-4. She trailed 2-0, double-faulted eight times - but made it to the second round.