MOSCOW. Nov 10: Top seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov began the defence of his Kremlin Cup title by crushing Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-3. 6-2 in under an hour on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

After breaking Clement twice in each set. Kafelnikov said he was intent on becoming world number one again next year. He held the world's top spot for six weeks this year.

Former Kremlin Cup winner Goran Ivanisevic overcame a shaky start to move into the second round with a 6-4. 7-5 win over third seeded Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean.

Two other seeds were beaten on Tuesday. Nicolas Escude teat Younes El Aynaou' of Morocco, the fourth seed. 7-6. 7-6 and fellow Frenchman Cyril Saulnier, a qualifier, knocked out eighth seeded Czech Jiri Novak 2-6. 7-6. 6-4.