Wimbledon runner-up Mark Philippoussis was forced to pull out of the one-million-euro Swiss Indoors tournament because of a chest infection here on Tuesday.

The Australian, whose career has been dogged by injuries, was seeded six and had been due to play Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti in the first round.

The withdrawal is also a blow to Philippoussis's hopes of securing one of the two remaining berths for November's Masters Cup in the United States.

He is currently ninth in the Masters race while only the top eight receive invites.

Philippoussis is the second big name to pull out of the tournament following world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero's decision to withdraw on Monday.

Meanwhile, America's James Blake slumped to his third straight first-round defeat, losing 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Germany's Tomas Behrend to follow other first hurdle stumbles against Max Mirnyi in Madrid and Karol Beck in Vienna.

There were no such problems for second seed and Wimbledon winner Roger Federer who easily disposed of veteran countryman Marc Rosset 6-1, 6-3.

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