Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic bowed out of the Eastbourne International in the first round on Tuesday, blaming tired legs and a lack of motivation.
She was followed out by French Open champion and former Eastbourne winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, who lasted only 51 minutes in a 6-0, 6-3 thrashing by Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak in the Wimbledon warm-up event.
Kuznetsova, the second seed, said she had had insufficient time to adjust from the claycourt season.
PHOTO: AP
“I can play on grass, I just need time,” the Russian, who won here in 2004, told reporters. “I am not a robot [who can] change in a few days.”
Serbian Jankovic, the third seed, was beaten 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 by Russian Anna Chakvetadze after an erratic performance and said bending low to reach the ball had sapped her energy.
“My legs let me down,” said Jankovic, who has dropped to sixth in the world. “My quads were starting to hurt and I didn’t have any energy left.”
Chakvetadze, ranked 31, took a 5-1 lead in the first set but lost it on a tiebreak after a string of errors.
The Russian, who will next play Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, took the second set on a single break and raced 4-1 ahead in the third before Jankovic, who needed treatment on her right thigh after slipping in the seventh game, tried to fight back.
“I am missing a little bit of the motivation that I used to have before,” Jankovic, 24, told reporters. “It is a constant battle against yourself.”
Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland saw off younger sister Urszula 6-1, 6-1 to reach the second round.
Fourth seed Vera Zvonareva was another early casualty, losing a see-saw match with former Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo of France 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
On a good day for Canada, qualifier Frank Dancevic knocked top-seeded Russian Igor Andreev, the world No. 26, out of the men’s tournament, a new event here and lower-key than the women’s competition.
Eighth-seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain had to battle hard to beat Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun 6-4, 6-7 (0/7), 7-6 (7/3) in their second-round clash.
Frenchman Julien Benneteau beat fifth seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a first round match and fourth-seeded compatriot Fabrice Santoro reached the third round with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over American Robby Ginepri.
■DEN BOSCH OPEN
REUTERS, AMSTERDAM
Top men’s seed Fernando Verdasco lost 7-5, 7-6 to Germany’s Benjamin Becker in the second round of the Den Bosch Open on Tuesday, while second-seeded fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo was also knocked out.
World No. 15 Robredo fell to unseeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, 7-5, 6-2 in their first-round match.
In the women’s draw, second seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia was beaten 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 by France’s Nathalie Dechy in the first round, while fourth seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania lost 6-4, 6-3 to Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in the second round.
Russian women’s world No. 1 Dinara Safina sailed into the second round with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
Michaella Krajicek, the 2006 champion, lost her second-round match to Kristina Barrois 6-4, 6-3.
Women’s holder Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand cruised into the third round, overcoming Czech Iveta Benesova 6-3, 6-1.
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