Russian tennis star, Anna Kournikova, has crashed out of the Kremlin Cup in the first round. The star lost 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, to seventeen year-old compatriot Galina Fokina. Kournikova has missed most of the season with a foot injury and did appear to have some trouble moving around the court.
There was also a shock in the men's event, as third seed Roger Federer crashed out 6-3, 1-6, 7-6, to Germany's Nicholas Kiefer. Federer, from Switzerland, made too many unforced errors and had no answer to Kiefer's persistence, losing on the second match point.
Fokina, ranked a lowly 251 in the world said of her win: "I think lately many Russians don't seem to like Anna that much, therefore I felt like I had more fan support than her and I didn't feel nervous playing on centre court." Her home crowd whistled Kournikova off court after the defeat.
Fokina will now face teen sensation Jelena Dokic, while Kiefer's opponent is yet to be decided.
Filed by John Raftery
