Top seed and title holder Caroline Wozniacki suffered a first-round defeat at the Eastbourne tennis championships in England and was swiftly followed out of the exit door by French Open champion Francesca Schiavone.
Denmark's Wozniacki, the world number three, fell to Aravane Rezai of France in 3 sets while Italy's Schiavone, the second seed, was beaten by Romania's Sorana Cirstea in straight sets.
Fifth seed Kim Clijsters had no such problems, however, as the U.S. Open champion began her Wimbledon countdown with a 6-1 6-1 thrashing of fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer.
A high-quality draw lost another seed when Pole Agnieszka Radwanska, the number four at the grasscourt tournament, was beaten by Victoria Azaranka of Belarus.
