Top seeds Kerber, Halep upset in Doha

Angelique Kerber has lost in her first singles tournament since winning the Australian Open.

Kerber, the top seed at the Qatar Total Open in Doha, lost 7-5 6-1 to China’s Zheng Saisai in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.

The tournament also lost its second-seeded player when Simona Halep, the 2014 champion, was beaten by Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina 6-7(1) 6-4 6-1.

Nightmarish 2016 for Simona Halep continues: from up 7-6, 4-1 she loses to Vesnina.

Ranking under fire…defending Indian Wells title soon.

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) February 23, 2016

Although she played two Fed Cup singles matches since her Grand Slam breakthrough, this was Kerber’s first singles tournament match since she beat Serena Williams in the Australian Open final on 30 January.

Kerber, 29, who also lost to Belinda Bencic in one of those Fed Cup matches, hit 38 unforced errors as the world No.73 dominated.

“I was not feeling good from the beginning,” said Kerber, who withdrew from last week’s Dubai Open with a right thigh injury.

“I think you have days like this sometimes.

“I don’t know how many mistakes I did today. This is not my game … that’s all I can say.”

Zheng will play Eugenie Bouchard in the third round after the Canadian beat Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7-0) 7-5.

Third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska advanced after beating Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko 6-4 6-4 while No.4-seeded Garbine Muguruza beat Japan’s Nao Hibino 6-2 6-0.