Safina, V.Williams lose at Tokyo tourney

TOKYO, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Dinara Safina, Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova, three of the top six ranked women, were bounced Monday from the $2 million Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Safina, whose play has been erratic despite her No. 1 ranking, fell 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-5 to qualifier Kai-Chen Chang, ranked 132nd. The loss dropped Safina to 2-3 over her last three tournaments. All five matches went three sets.

Monday, Safina managed eight aces but more than offset those with nine double faults. She led 5-3 in the third set before Chang ran off four consecutive games to claim the second-round match.

Williams, No. 3 in the world, took an early lead on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova but ended up with a 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 loss. Each player won 86 points Pavlyuchenkova, ranked No. 40 this week, notched one extra service break in beating Williams for the first time. Williams lost only one game in only other meeting with Pavlyuchenkova.

No. 5-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova also was ousted Monday, dropping a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 decision to No. 58 Andrea Petkovic. Safina defeated Kuznetsova in the finals of last year's Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Seeded players who advanced out of the first-round include 11th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who stopped Ekaterina Makarova 7-5, 6-3; No. 12 Samantha Stosur, who beat Alexa Glatch, 7-5, 6-0; 13th-seeded Nadia Petrova, who won when Ai Sugiyama retired with an illness; and No. 14 Marion Bartoli, who beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-0.

No. 16-seeded Virginie Razzano was defeated in her first-round match, losing 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 to Iveta Benezova.