No. 4 seed Anett Kontaveit collapsed from leading a set and 4-2, falling to Tatjana Maria 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round in Mallorca on Monday.
The Estonian lost seven straight games and 10 of the last 13 after her high point, sending her to her second first round upset defeat in as many weeks after the defending Hertogenbosch champion was ousted in straight sets there.
Kontaveit actually tallied better numbers in many statistical categories, like first serve percentage, second serve points won and return points won, but she converted just four of 12 break points. Maria, ranked 79th in the world, was a far more efficient five of nine on break chances, including two of hour in the pivot second set.
Kontaveit, ranked 27th, had a chance to get back on serve at 4-3 in the third set, but could not convert a break point and lost her ensuing service game at love to finalize her defeat.
Fifth seed Carla Suarez Navarro lost 6-4, 7-6 to wild card Lara Arruabarrena, saving just one of three break points and rendering a strong second set useless in a poor tiebreak. Arruabarrena raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set, but the onetime world No. 6 appeared to recover in the second, with easy service holds and an occasional break point.
She won just two points on her serve in the tiebreak, however, and deposited a forehand into the net on Arruabarrena’s second match point.
No. 8 seed Aryna Sabalenka completed the exodus of seeds, losing 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to Alison van Uytvanck, who at No. 44 in the world is just one place lower than Sabalenka. The Belgian put on a gritty performance, battling back from a first set loss in which she held just one break point and won only two points on her second serve.
She lost her serve when trying to close out the second set, but broke back immediately to level the scoreline. Then in the third, she saved break points on consecutive service games before depositing a forehand into the corner in Sabalenka’s next serve game to edge in front. She then closed the mildest of upsets with another service break.
A pair of well-known veterans had mixed results. 34-year-old Sam Stosur knocked off Marketa Vondrusova 6-2, 7-5 in part by winning 54 percent of return points and breaking six times, while 37-year-old Francesca Schiavone lost to Carina Witthoeft 6-1, 6-7, 6-3. The Italian finally converted her 14th break point — and seventh in the game — to draw level late in the third, then immediately lost her serve again.
