(Sports Network) - World No. 1 Dinara Safina and former top- ranked star Venus Williams were a pair of second-round upset victims Monday at the $4.5 million China Open.

The French Open and Aussie Open runner-up Safina, who piled up 13 double faults, was stunned by Chinese qualifier Shuai Zhang 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), while the third-seeded Wimbledon runner-up Venus, who tallied 12 double faults, was ousted by promising 18-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, for a second time in the last week, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on the hardcourts at the Olympic Green Tennis Center.

"I woke up this morning feeling really excited, but didn't do any special preparation and never expected to win the match," said the 226th-ranked Zhang after she dismissed the struggling Safina, who will lose her world No. 1 ranking if No. 2 Serena Williams wins here on Tuesday.

Safina has now dropped three-of-four and five of her last eight matches, while Venus has lost three of her last four outings.

Sixth-seeded 2008 Beijing runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova avoided an upset by blasting Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 6-1 on Day 3 here. The 2006 China Open champion and 2004 runner-up Kuznetsova, who lost to Serbian Jelena Jankovic in last year's finale here, is the reigning French Open champ.

One other seeded winner on Monday was No. 16 Chinese Li Na, who overcame Czech Lucie Safarova 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.

Additional second-round action saw Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko drill Italian Sara Errani 6-3, 6-3 and Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak hold off France's Alize Cornet 7-6 (7-0), 6-4.

A seeded first-round winner on Day 3 was Russian Nadia Petrova, who snuck past qualifier compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

Other opening-round victors were Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, Russian Alisa Kleybanova, Italian Francesca Schiavone and American lucky-loser Vania King. Kleybanova surprised wild card and U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer, of Belgium, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

The second round will conclude with 10 matches here on Tuesday, including ones for the second-seeded Serena, fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva and an eighth-seeded Jankovic. The former world No. 1 Aussie Open and Wimbledon champion Serena, who captured this Chinese tournament five years ago, will meet Russian Ekaterina Makarova, while the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medalist Dementieva will encounter Hungarian Melinda Czink and the former top-ranked and reigning Beijing titlist Jankovic will take on China's Peng Shuai. Jankovic was a runner-up here in 2007.

Jankovic was last week's Japan Open runner-up to Maria Sharapova.

Another quality second-rounder on Day 4 will pit ninth-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka against the former No. 1 Sharapova.

The 2009 Beijing champion will collect a whopping $775,500.









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