EASTBOURNE, England -- World No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo was upset by French countrywoman Nathalie Dechy 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the Hastings Direct Championships on Wednesday.
Also, defending champion Kim Clijsters advanced to the quarterfinals when Russian opponent Vera Zvonareva retired with a right Achilles strain after losing the first three games, and third-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne swept aside Czech Kveta Peschke 6-2, 6-1.
All three top seeds had first-round byes. It's the first time the world's leading three players have appeared in the tournament since 1979.
Mauresmo took the opening set with a single break of serve, after a netted backhand from Dechy gave her a 3-1 lead.
But Mauresmo began to struggle with her serve and sometimes looked awkward in the windy conditions, missing a number of volleys. Dechy took advantage, running in well and pressuring her opponent with a driving forehand.
A double fault gave Dechy a break for 3-1 in the second set, and she broke again for the set with a forehand winner.
In the third set, Dechy missed serving out the match at 5-1 and finally won it 6-3.
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| Nathalie Dechy and Amelie Mauresmo shake after their match. (Getty Images) |
"Same story as last year I guess, I just hope I have another good Wimbledon," Mauresmo said. "The conditions were tough today and I was playing a very solid opponent. I didn't serve well, or come to the net enough. It's good I'm still in the doubles here and that'll help my preparation to practice more serves, returns and volleys."
Dechy beat a world No. 1 for the first time.
"It's always very difficult to beat one of your best friends," she said. "We've been playing against each other since we were seven years old. I think I handled the windy conditions better than Amelie today. It was her first match on grass this year, so I was expecting she would take a bit of time to get used to the surface."
Zvonareva, who won the Birmingham grass-court tournament last week, fell at the end of the second game before retiring after the third, but Clijsters said that wasn't why the Russian retired.
"I asked her if it was because of the fall but she said she hurt her toes last week," Clijsters said. "They were taped up already and a little bit sore.
"It's disappointing. I was hitting the ball well and really enjoying it out there. It's a shame it has to happen like this."
French Open champ Henin-Hardenne was never under pressure from Peschke -- winning the last 11 points of the first set and breaking to love to begin the second -- but admitted struggling with the wind.
"It's not easy to play your first match on grass, but with these conditions it makes the mission more and more difficult," said Henin-Hardenne. "It was tough to find a good rhythm, but I could show pretty good things today, especially in the second set."
Fifth-seeded Russian Anastasia Myskina defeated American Jill Craybas 6-4, 6-4, sixth-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy defeated Akiko Morigami of Japan 6-0, 6-2, and seventh-seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany beat Russian Vera Dushevina 6-4, 6-1. Elena Likhovtseva of Russia also won, beating American Shenay Perry 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
In the quarters, it's: Clijsters vs. Schiavone, Henin-Hardenne vs. Likhovtseva, Groenefeld vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Myskina vs. Dechy.
