Serena Blotted by Sun in Stunner at WTA Beijing

Serena Williams' downhill slide picked up speed Wednesday at the WTA stop in Beijing, with the American appearing near tears as she was straight-setted by a player ranked outside the Top 100 in China's Tiantian Sun.

Serena saved four match points in an error-strewn display that eventually ended at 9-7 in the second-set tiebreak.

"I played terrible," Serena said. "I never expected such a tough match. She hit some great shots. I'm still struggling a bit with my left knee but I'm disappointed not to have performed better."

For Sun, who hadn't beaten a Top 50 player until this year's US Open, the Top 10 scalp in front of the home fans was a breakthrough.

"I never expected to win," Sun said. "It's definitely a breakthrough but it's not a miracle. I played the way I always play. It will give me a big confidence boost."

It was the second first-round loss of the year for the younger Williams sister, who went out first round on clay at Rome to Francesca Schiavone.

Another Chinese produced an upset when wildcard Jie Zheng toppled (6) Jelena Jankovic in three sets, and Japan's Shinobu Asagoe upset (7) Tatiana Golovin in straight sets.

No. 9 Anna-Lena Groenefeld was the only seeded winner on the day, breezing past Japan's Ai Sugiyama.

Other winners Wednesday were Israel's Shahar Peer (d. Douchevina, bagel in the second), Poland's Marta Domachowska (d. Shaughnessy), and China's Shuai Peng (d. Diaz-Oliva 7-6 in the third).

On court Thursday are Kirilenko vs. Nakamura, Sharapova vs. Peer, Zheng vs. Domachowska, Llagostera Vives vs. Venus, and Craybas vs. Asagoe.