TEARFUL world No 1 Dinara Safina collapsed to a stunning 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 defeat by Taiwanese qualifier Chang Kai-chen at the Pan Pacific Open yesterday.
Second seed Venus Williams also lost her opening match, toppled 7-6, 7-5 by Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in front of an empty Tokyo centre court way past midnight local time.
Defending champion Safina, dumped out of the US Open in the third ro
und this month, struggled from the start against a player 131 places below her in the world rankings.
"It's not an easy moment," said the Russian, who sat sobbing on the steps of the players' lounge after her latest setback. "I had a lot of chances in the third set but I just let it go."
Safina's top ranking has been a source of contention following her failure to win a maiden grand slam in 2009.
A holiday from tennis after her New York flop did not look to have helped her as she lost the first set tie-break 7-5. She rallied to take the second set with a thumping backhand, but after seizing an early break in the decider, Safina's nervousness resurfaced as she tamely surrendered her serve with a double-fault at 5-4 up.
The 18-year-old Chang kept her cool, completing the biggest win of her career by forcing Safina into wild forehand on her third match point. "I never came into the match thinking I was going to lose badly," said Chang. "I just wanted to play tough."
French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova followed her compatriot out of the tournament. The fifth seed was upset 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 by Germany's Andrea Petkovic, also a qualifier.
While former Tokyo winner Maria Sharapova restored pride for Russia, and cheered event sponsors with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Italy's Francesca Schiavone, Pavlyuchenkova's late-night ambushing of American Williams dealt a further blow to the prestige of the tournament.
Former world No 1 Sharapova improved as her match progressed, storming through the final set before closing out with a blistering forehand.
"I did a great job of hanging in there. It was important to stay patient," said Sharapova, 25th in the world rankings following shoulder surgery last October.
"What I have learned is that it takes a really long time to come back from injury.
"I know that I've got to push myself more than I ever have in my career."
