NEW YORK -- With a hands-down gesture, Cedric Pioline overruled a service linesman Tuesday, giving his opponent an ace. Two points later, the Frenchman walked off the court a first-round loser in qualifying for a tournament he once nearly won.

Nine years ago and on a court just a few yards away, the big-serving Frenchman reached the U.S. Open championship. In 1997, he fought his way to the title match at Wimbledon. Both times he fell to Pete Sampras.

Tuesday, the 13th-seeded Pioline tumbled to Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland 3-6, 6-2, 5-0, then retired as the final Grand Slam tournament of the year got under way.

After he overruled the linesman, Pioline never raised his racket as he stood and watched the next two serves fly past for aces. Then, with young autograph seekers trailing him, he walked briskly to the dressing room and out of the hot sun at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow.

Other winners on the opening day of qualifying included 15-year-old Richard Gasquet of France, 6-1, 6-2 over Cristiano Caratti of Italy; top-seeded Lars Burgsmuller of Germany, 6-4, 7-5 over American Michael Joyce; Martin Lee of Britain, 6-3, 6-1 over Jan Siemerink of the Netherlands; Shenay Perry of Coconut Creek, Fla., 6-3, 6-1 over No. 18 Celine Beigbeder of France; and Mirjana Lucic of Croatia, 6-4, 7-5 over No. 26 Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic.