JIMMY Connors made a disastrous start to a three-month European tennis

campaign when he lost to Italian Paolo Cane in the first round of the

Monte Carlo Open in Monaco yesterday.

Cane, a 24-year-old with just one grand-prix title to his name

compared with the veteran American's 107, won the first-round match 7-6,

6-1 in just under two hours.

But Connors, 36, the fifth seed, showed no sign of being subdued by

his defeat. ''This is my first match on clay in two years,'' he said.