MELBOURNE - World tennis No 9 Elena Dementieva was the first seeded player to crash out of the Australian Open today, losing 7-5 6-2 in the first round to Germany's Julia Schruff.
Dementieva, a former French and US Open finalist, struggled from the outset and was quickly down 5-1 in the first set against the unranked German, 23.
The ninth-seeded Russian fought back to 5-5 but lost the next two games to give Schruff the first set.
Dementieva, 24, took a 10-minute break between sets but that failed to unsettle Schruff, who raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second set.
The German won her first match at the Australian Open after Dementieva hit a forehand into the net.
- REUTERS
Tennis: Dementieva crashes out of Open
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.