Pe'er exits East West Bank Classic

By ALLON SINAI
Shahar Pe'er crashed out of the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles in humiliating fashion on Monday, losing 1-6, 1-6 to Samantha Stosur. The Israeli, who is ranked No. 25 in the world and was seeded No. 12 at the $600,000 Tier II event, succumbed to the Australian in just 52 minutes and suffered her second straight early exit on the North American hard-courts. Last week Pe'er was knocked out in the second round in Stanford. "I think it was probably the best match I've played in the last couple of weeks," said Stosur, who is ranked No. 87 in the world. "I got off to a good start and got rolling from there. I was never really under pressure during the games. We've played each other a few times and I knew what to expect. The more matches you play, the more confident you get. The way I felt tonight, I didn't have to think that much." Pe'er will play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal next week, her final tournament before the Beijing Olympics.