Last Updated: Thu, 08 May 2008 15:04
World number one Justine Henin has suffered a shock defeat to Russia's Dinara Safina at the German Open.
It was just the Belgian ace's second match since returning after a month out of the game and she struggled badly on serve, losing in three sets 5-7 6-3 6-1.
The 25-year-old top seed was unable to reach top form and was broken eight times, to suffer her first defeat to Safina, after winning their five previous meetings.
It was also Henin's first defeat on the game's slowest surface since she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the last four in Berlin last year.
Henin, a three-time winner in Berlin, had been looking to get back into the groove ahead of the year's second Grand Slam, the French Open - which starts on May 26 - as she looks to defend the title she has won four times.
There was another surprise elsewhere as third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was sent packing by Alona Bondarenko, 1-6 6-2 6-2.