11.30pm
MELBOURNE - A hobbling Monica Seles was today knocked out of the Australian Open by Czech qualifier Klara Koukalova after twisting her ankle at the start of their second round match.
The former world number one crashed to a 6-7 7-5 6-3 defeat after bravely playing on with her left ankle heavily strapped.
It was just the second time since Seles made her grand slam debut in 1989 that she failed to make it past the second round of one of the four majors.
Seles, who had lost just three matches in seven previous appearances at the Australian Open dating back to 1991, was unable to run or move freely around the court after injuring herself in the third game.
Incredibly, the sixth seed still managed to grab the first set tiebreaker but struggled to stay in the match as Koukalova began tormenting her by repeatedly dropping the ball just over the net.
Koukalova, playing in her first grand slam event, plays American Meghann Shaughnessy in the third round after the 28th seed beat Slovakian Ludmila Cervanova 6-1 6-1.
Seles, 29, won a hat-trick of Australian Open titles in the early 1990s before her career was interrupted when a crazed knifeman stabbed her in Germany in 1993.
She made an emotional return to Melbourne in 1996, winning a fourth time, but has not won a grand slam title since.
She made the semi-finals in 1999 and 2002 and was a quarter-finalist in 2001 but this was her earliest exit.
Tennis: Seles hobbles out of Open
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