Seles knocked out of Qatar Open

Doha: Lina Krasnoroutskaya of Russia upset defending champion Monica Seles of the United States 7-5, 7-5 in the second round of the $170,000 Qatar Open. The 18-year-old wildcard showed no signs of nerves as she downed Seles, a nine-time Grand Slam winner. Krasnoroutskaya's best-ever performance at a Grand Slam came at the 2001 French Open, where she reached the quarterfinals. Last year, Seles beat Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand in the tournament's final. "I didn't get my serve and ground strokes right. I made far too many mistakes. On top of that, Lina kept the pressure on me as she played some terrific shots,'' Seles said. In another match, second seed Anastasia Myskina of Russia overcame two-time Grand Slam champion Mary Pierce of France 7-5, 6-2. Myskina's best performance at a Grand Slam came last month when she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria beat Martina Sucha of Slovakia 6-4, 6-2 and Dinara Safina of Russia beat countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3. (AP)