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Kuznetsova crashes out in California; Clijsters wins opener

French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was left frustrated by her early exit in California.
French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was left frustrated by her early exit in California.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova exits BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells
  • Russian loses her opening match 6-4 4-6 6-1 to unseeded Spaniard Carla Suarez-Navarro
  • Two-time champion Kim Clijsters cruises into third round, beating Barbora Zahlavova Strycova
  • Third seed Victoria Azarenka also wins in second round on Saturday

(CNN) -- Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova tumbled out of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Saturday, but two-time champion Kim Clijsters cruised into the third round.

Kuznetsova, who lost in the 2007 and 2008 finals, became the first top-ranked player at the Californian tournament to lose their opening match since Clijsters in 2002.

The Russian, who had an opening-round bye, lost 6-4 4-6 6-1 to unseeded Spaniard Carla Suarez-Navarro as she paid for her 69 unforced errors and seven double-faults.

"It's frustrating, because I know I have the game," the 24-year-old told the tournament's official Web site. "I feel great. I do practice, play unbelievable, and then get to the match and I don't do much.

"So my thinking is I just need more matches because as soon as I have matches, I keep going."

I want to get the game I had when I was playing at the U.S. Open. I want to keep raising the bar
--Kim Clijsters
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Suarez-Navarro will play Agnes Szavay in the third round, with the Hungarian 27th seed progressing after a 6-3 6-2 victory against Taiwan's Chan Yung-Jan.

U.S. Open champion Clijsters avoided suffering the same demise as fellow Belgian and former world No. 1 Justine Henin, who lost to Argentina's Gisela Dulko on Friday.

Clijsters, seeded 14th in her first appearance at the tournament since winning it for the second time in 2005, thrashed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-2 6-1.

"I felt good out there today," Clijsters told the WTA Tour Web site. "Legs felt good, fresh. It's important in a match like this, to get through without wasting too much time, but also getting a good rhythm.

"I want to get the game I had when I was playing at the U.S. Open, where I played really well. I want to keep raising the bar."

Clijsters will next face Russian 23rd seed Alisa Kleybanova, who beat Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-1.

Daniela Hantuchova, another two-time champion, was knocked out by Italy's Roberta Vinci.

The 21st seed was upset 6-3 7-5 despite battling back from 3-0 down in the second set, with Vinci earning a third-round clash with Belgian 13th seed Yanina Wickmayer.

Third seed Victoria Azarenka progressed with a 6-1 7-5 win over Austria's Sybille Bammer, and the Belarussian will next play Spanish 28th seed Maria Jose Martinez.

Australian eighth seed Samantha Stosur defeated France's Julie Coin 6-1 7-6 (7-4) to set up a clash with Russian 25th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Ninth seed Flavia Pennetta also went through with a 6-3 6-3 win over Czech Petra Kvitova, and the Italian will play Israel's 17th seed Shahar Peer in the third round.