Third seed Serena Williams tumbled out of the Rome Masters when she lost 7-6, 6-1 to home favourite Francesca Schiavone on Wednesday.
The 2002 champion, on her first competitive outing since an ankle sprain forced her to withdraw from tournaments in Amelia Island and Berlin, looked desperately short of match play against the unfancied Italian, ranked 26th in the world.
Asked whether her game had been affected by the injury, Williams replied: "No. I had a really good warm-up. I thought everything would come together but it didn't.
"I just wasn't moving well. I guess I just had a really bad day," she said. "I made too many errors. I didn't feel anything, from my legs or my arms. I've never felt like this before.
"I think everyone in their career has their worst loss. This is mine. It won't happen again."
Williams was not the only high-ranking player to fall in the second round. In an earlier match fourth seed Elena Dementieva lost 7-5, 6-4 to Gisela Dulko of Argentina.
There were no such troubles for defending champion Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, however, who cruised past Australia's Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-0.
WILLIAMS SLUGGISH
Williams looked sluggish as she fended off break points in her opening two service games.
She broke Schiavone in the fifth game but the Italian broke straight back then held off three break points in the ninth to force a tiebreak, which she raced through as Williams made a string of backhand errors.
| |||||||||||
Asked what she planned to do now in the run-up to the French Open, which starts on May 23, Williams replied: "I don't know. I didn't expect this to happen."
Dementieva, 23, was also carrying an injury -- a hip problem that forced her out of last week's Berlin Open -- and was dragged around the court by Dulko's precise and consistent groundstrokes.
The world number five joined compatriots Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Likhovtseva in exiting the tournament, though wins for seventh seed Nadia Petrova and sixth-seeded Vera Zvonareva meant the Russians retained their formidable presence at the event.
GOOD FORM
Petrova, who reached the final in Berlin, confirmed her recent good form with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Italy's Mara Santangelo, while Zvonareva saw off the challenge of Serbia and Montenegro's Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-1.
Second seed Mauresmo, who received a bye in the opening round, was barely tested by Stosur.
"I felt it was close at the beginning, then I put my level up a little higher. 6-2, 6-0 is a great way to start the tournament," said the Frenchwoman, who has appeared in four of the past five Rome finals.
"I think I played a real claycourt game today, with a lot of spin, and trying also to come in when I was able to, when she put the ball a little shorter.
"I'll try to get that trophy again but it's going to be tough. Obviously, I'll just take it match by match."
She next faces 13th seed Silvia Farina Elia, who beat French qualifier Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-3, 6-3.
The Italian should be a much tougher test for Mauresmo, who saved two match points on the way to beating her in the quarter-finals of last season's Rome tournament.
"That was a hard match. I remember the conditions -- rainy and cold. Hopefully, we'll have better weather this time," said Mauresmo.
There were also wins for four-time former champion Conchita Martinez, who beat Israel's Anna Smashnova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, and 1997 winner Mary Pierce, who set up an intriguing third round clash with top seed Maria Sharapova by defeating Sanda Mamic 6-4, 6-4.
