FILDERSTADT, Germany (AFP) - Russian Vera Zvonareva became the second seed to crash out of the 650,000-dollar WTA event falling to a straight sets 6-3, 7-5 first round defeat against compatriot Elena Likhovtseva.
Japanese eighth seed Ai Sugiyama exited the tournament on Monday and Zvonareva, seeded six here, suffered the same fate with 13 double faults contributing to her downfall.
World No. 11 Zvonareva was a break of service up at 3-2 in the first set but her serve faltered and she collapsed to lose 6-3.
Likhovtseva dominated in the second set to move 5-2 in front only to struggle to close out the match.
Zvonareva adopted the nothing to lose attitude and produced some breathtaking ground strokes to win the next three games and level at 5-5.
The crowd anticipated a comeback but Likhovtseva rediscovered her composure to triumph 7-5 and move into the next round.
"I played well for both sets until I got 5-2 up and then I let her in the game," admitted the victor.
"I know Vera's game quite well because we practice together and tried to vary my serve and try out different spins."
French star Mary Pierce will face Likhovtseva in the next round after disposing of Argentina's Paola Suarez 6-2, 6-3.
Talented Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova also progressed coming from a set behind to defeat wildcard Lilia Osterloh 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
American ace Lindsay Davenport aims to nudge Amelie Mauresmo from the World No. 1 spot and can achieve that here, with less than 200 points separating the pair, should she prosper and her French rival crash out early on.
"I think I have a good chance of reaching top spot by the end of the year," said Davenport.
World No. 2 Davenport, who last topped the world rankings back in June 2001, faces Australian Alicia Molik in her second round match after receiving a first round bye.