Shahar Pe'er's worst ever crisis continues to deepen when she loses in the first round of the Torneo Barcelona.
By ALLON SINAIpeer 224.88(photo credit: AP)
Another tournament and yet another first round exit.
Shahar Pe'er's worst ever crisis continued to deepen on Tuesday when the 21-year-old lost 5-7, 2-6 to Nuria Llagostera Vives in the first round of the Torneo Barcelona.
Pe'er, who was seeded No. 1 at the $145,000 Tier IV event, has now lost in the first round of her last three tournaments and has won only two of her last nine matches overall.
Tuesday's defeat to Llagostera Vives (102) was also Pe'er's third straight against a player ranked outside the world's top-100.
Pe'er (25) dropped out of the world's top-20 for the first time in 18 months on Monday.
To make matters even worse is currently without a coach after deciding to split with Gabriel Urpi and Conchita Martinez last weekend.
Meanwhile, Britain's Andy Murray advanced to the third round of the Wimbledon tuneup tournament at Queen's in just 14 minutes on Tuesday when Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean retired with a left leg injury after dropping the first two games.
"Obviously I would have rather won the match normally," said Murray, who also had a first round bye.
Grosjean, a two-time finalist here, held off two break points in the opening game before double-faulting on the third.
He got treatment from the trainer but after Murray held for 2-0 with three aces, the Frenchman quit the match.
In first-round matches, Italy's Simone Bolelli also advanced easily when Canadian Frank Dancevic retired at 2-2 in the opening set and Xavier Malisse of Belgium humbled British wild card entry Dan Evans 6-1, 6-1.
AP contributed to this report.
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