Rome ? Andre Agassi’s hold on No. 1 slipped away about as quickly as his lead against a 60th-ranked opponent at the Italian Open.

In his first match since becoming the oldest man to lead the rankings, Agassi lost to David Ferrer of Spain 0-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 Monday.

Agassi was the defending champion at the Tennis Masters Series event, so the first-round defeat will drop him below Lleyton Hewitt in the 52-week rankings.

“To get to No. 1 at my age was already an accomplishment, and it’s a long year so we’ll be going back and forth,” the 33-year-old American said. “But the most disappointing thing is to come to Rome and lose in the first round. There’s nothing good about that.”

He cruised through the first set in 24 minutes. But Ferrer — who had lost six first-round matches in a row — started holding serve in the second set, and Agassi’s command began to slip away.

In the final set, Ferrer forced Agassi to hit into the net on break point to go up 5-4. Agassi’s four unforced errors allowed Ferrer to serve out the match.