Stuttgart - Agnieszka Radwanska was knocked out in the opening round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Tuesday.
Rising star Ekaterina Makarova would upset the seventh seed
6-2, 6-4 in 89 minutes on the bright red clay courts of the German city.
Makarova was fast out of the blocks, breaking the Pole in the first service game and racing to a 3-1 lead. Radwanska had a chance to break back, but Makarova would see off her only break point of the set.
The second set started with a flurry of breaks and Makarova
eventually consolidated to take a 4-2 lead. Makarova had several opportunities
to go up another break, but Radwanska saved them all.
Needing to hold serve to win, Makarova fought back from four break points to secure a memorable victory.
The win puts the Russian on a collision course with Maria
Sharapova in the second round, who will make her return to tennis after serving
her 15-month doping ban on Wednesday against Roberta Vinci.
Elsewhere, in another upset, Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova
knocked out former US Open winner Sam Stosur 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova survived a second set comeback to battle past Kiki Bertens 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in over two and half hours on court.
Collated results from the WTA tournament in Stuttgart on Tuesday (x denotes seeding):
1st rd
Anett Kontaveit (EST) bt Ana Konjuh (CRO) 7-6 (7/5), 6-4
Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) bt Samantha Stosur (AUS) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Barbora Strcov (CZE) bt Jennifer Brady (USA) 6-2, 6-2
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x8) bt Kiki Bertens (NED) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) bt Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x7) 6-2, 6-4
Laura Siegemund (GER) bt Shuai Zhang (CHN) 6-2, 7-6 (7/4)