MASON, Ohio -- Marat Safin kicked the courtside clock and repeatedly screamed in disgust Monday night, losing his composure and a first-round match to Greg Rusedski in the Masters Series Cincinnati.

	Andre Agassi showed no signs of hip or back trouble in beating Younes El Aynaoui.

The unseeded Rusedski rallied to win the first-set tiebreaker, then took advantage as second-seeded Safin unraveled, finishing off a 7-6 (7), 6-2 victory.

Andre Agassi was pushed to three sets in his first-round match before beating Morocco's Younes El Aynaoui 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in 90-degree heat.

Fifth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov and 10th-seeded Roger Federer also were knocked out in the first round. Germany's Rainer Schuettler beat Kafelnikov 6-3, 6-2, and Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic edged Federer 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The biggest upset involved Safin, who is ranked No. 2 in the world and is known for smashing rackets and screaming when things go wrong.

He got ahead 5-2 in the first-set tiebreaker, then tensed his arms, threw his head back and yelled after missing a forehand that would have moved him to set point. Safin then imploded, and Rusedski finished off the 52-minute set with his fifth ace.

''It means you have no confidence,'' Safin said. ''You miss a shot and everything is turning around, everything is going against you. It means you're in bad shape, you're in a bad mood and you're not playing well.''

His mood got much worse after he lost his serve to start the second set, then the first point of the next game. Safin walked to the courtside clock and kicked it hard, sending a resounding ''boom'' across center court as the clock tottered.

As the set played out, Safin stopped screaming and started merely waving his arms and dropping his head in disgust. He quickly walked off the court with head down when it ended, unsure what had happened.

''I'm so lost that I can't find out what I can do to come back and play well,'' he said. ''I'm supposed to be No. 1 (in the world) and I'm supposed to win some big tournaments this year. I've had chances, but I didn't do it. I don't know what to do.''

Rusedski knew what to do -- play steady and let Safin self-destruct. Rusedski had only 16 unforced errors; Safin had 30.

''You've got to stay on him,'' Rusedski said. ''You can see sometimes he gets upset on the court, but then he can come back. He can go up and down a little bit.''

Agassi had an up-and-down match at the hottest time of the day -- early afternoon, with the temperature well above 90 degrees. He finally took control with one shot in the final set.

El Aynaoui hit a backhand drop shot in the third game, but Agassi got to it with a lunge and hit a crosscourt return for a service break. Agassi pumped his fist after the shot, while El Aynaoui tumbled on the court after the ball shot past.

It proved to be the turning point in a 1-hour, 43-minute match.

''I still had two more break points to go, but the momentum certainly was in my favor at that point,'' said Agassi, seeded sixth. ''I felt pretty good. I was able to get here a few days early, which gave me a chance to get ready.''

It was another fast exit for Kafelnikov, who has failed to make it past the first round of three Masters tournaments this year -- Monte Carlo, Hamburg and Cincinnati.

Schuettler lost in the first round in Toronto last week and spent the last few days working out in Cincinnati, getting acclimated to the hot, humid weather -- a factor in his upset of Kafelnikov.

''It wasn't easy,'' he said. ''It was tough out there. I think being able to practice in the heat was the difference.''

Schuettler fought off a break point early in the second set, then won the last 10 points in the match as Kafelnikov faded.

''I'm not going to blame weather conditions,'' Kafelnikov said. ''It was just my general performance.''