The Olympic Green Tennis Centre in Beijing turned into a graveyard of seeds on Monday, with Fernando Verdasco, Tomas Berdych and Jelena Jankovic leading a parade of stars out of the China Open. Verdasco - the sixth seed and the world number nine - never found his rhythm against Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, losing in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, under the lights at the joint WTA/ATP event.
The Spaniard, who also lost his first match in Bangkok last week, pledged to focus his energies ahead of next week's Masters event in Shanghai as he battles for a spot in the season-ending ATP championships in London. The 26-year-old said he would "work hard this week to be 100 percent in Shanghai and try to play well, try to recover the good feelings from the US Open," where he lost to world number one Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals. Berdych - ranked seventh in the world and a Wimbledon finalist this year - fell to left-handed German qualifier Michael Berrer in three sets, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Russia's Vera Zvonareva, the second seed, survived a first-round scare from her countrywoman Dinara Safina but emerged after nearly two hours of uneven baseline slugging from both players with a 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) victory.