Top seed and defending champion Jelena Dokic has been knocked out in the first round of the WTA Sarasota Open claycourt tournament after losing 6-3 6-3 to Argentina's Paola Suarez. The 19-year-old Yugoslavian looked to have returned to form at the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami last week when she reached the quarter-finals - the only time this year that she won three matches in a row.
But her inconsistency returned at the Florida venue against Suarez and she was easily beaten. Last year's runner-up, eighth seed Tatiana Panova of Russia, also crashed out after losing in straight sets to Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan 6-3 7-5. Fourth seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan is also on her way home following her 6-2 7-5 to veteran Conchita Martinez of Spain.
But second seed Anastasia Myskina of Russia snapped a three-match losing streak to record a 6-0 6-3 rout of Emilie Loit of France. Anna Kournikova's miserable run of form continued as she went out 6-4 4-6 6-4 to Iva Majoli.
Filed by Shane Murray
