HOUSTON -- Rainer Schuettler and Guillermo Coria are two of the year's most improved players on the ATP Tour. Neither looked that way Tuesday.

In a match riddled with miscues, Schuettler beat an inconsistent and hobbled Coria 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 at the Tennis Masters Cup.

With the temperature about 80 and wind blowing this way and that, they combined for 84 unforced errors, 28 break points and 13 double-faults. But the sixth-ranked Schuettler, runner-up to Andre Agassi at the Australian Open, did just enough to win.

"To be honest with you, it was tough to get a rhythm today,'' said Schuettler, who made 18 fewer errors and had 31 winners to Coria's 24.

Coria often clutched his left thigh when there were breaks in play, although he looked just fine during points, using his exceptional quickness to track down shots. After the second set, the Argentine took a medical timeout and had both legs massaged by a trainer.

"I didn't feel well physically and that affected me a lot because my strength is my speed. I normally don't make that many mistakes,'' said Coria, who is recovering from a flu. "When you're playing the best, you need to be at your best.''

The fourth-ranked Coria fell to 4-14 this season when losing the first set (he's 55-1 when winning it).

He finished 2002 ranked 45th, Schuettler was 33rd. Both will complete this year in the top 10 for the first time; Schuettler has improved his ranking a tour-best nine straight seasons. And even though they can't reach No. 1 this week, there is the matter of $3.65 million in prize money to be divided by the eight participants.

Later Tuesday, No. 1 Andy Roddick was to face 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya in their round-robin opener. Roddick is trying to hold off No. 2 Juan Carlos Ferrero and No. 3 Roger Federer for the top spot in the ATP Tour computer rankings. None of the three has finished a year at No. 1.

On Monday night, Federer kept his slim chances of reaching the top spot alive by playing through some rough patches and erasing two match points in a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (7) victory over Agassi.

When the 2½-hour thriller was over, Agassi paid Federer quite a compliment: He likened the reigning Wimbledon champion's on-court grace and cool to that of Pete Sampras.

"His disposition and the way he moves on the court -- you never feel like he's out of control. You never feel like he's panicked,'' Agassi said. "While any athlete knows that you can't help but feel these things, he does a great job of keeping that gracefulness about him.''

Both Coria and Schuettler are masters at covering the court, and that made it tough for either to end points easily Tuesday.

Schuettler broke serve to open the final set, held for 2-0 with the help of a chair umpire's overrule loudly argued by Coria, then had four break points to get to 3-0. Coria saved them all -- three with service winners -- but then dropped behind 4-1.

He broke to 4-2, then promptly lost serve to fall behind 5-2 by sending a forehand long.

Schuettler served for the match and nearly blew it, falling behind 40-love. But he saved those last three break points, hit an ace to get to match point, and won it when Coria sent a return long.

The match began with a series of streaks. Schuettler led 3-0, Coria tied it 3-all, and Schuettler used another three-game run to win it.

The second set continued the pattern, with Coria up 3-0. He extended the edge to 5-3 and served for the set. But he played a terrible game, getting broken at love with three errors and a double-fault. Coria broke right back, though, to win the second set, which ended when Schuettler floated a forehand long.

"It was strange,'' Schuettler said. "In the first and third sets, he had to try to come back. And in the second set, I had to.''