French Open 2011: Kim Clijsters crashes of Roland Garros following defeat to Dutch world No 118 Arantxa Rus

The world No 2 was playing her first tournament after two months out with an ankle injury and looked rusty in her first-round win over Anastasiya Yakimova.

She seemed to be playing better in the early stages on Thursday but her level dropped midway through the second set and the decider was a horror show from Clijsters, whose first appearance at Roland Garros since 2006 was expected to see her challenge for the title.

Rus, ranked 114th in the world, must have feared the worst when Clijsters raced through the first three games but he dug in and began to trouble her opponent off the ground.

The second seed always had the edge though despite the windy conditions and a run of five hard-fought games in a row gave her the first set, and a 3-0 lead in the second.

Again Rus battled back, and the errors continued to come frequently from the Clijsters racquet, but it always seemed only a matter of time before the 27-year-old strung enough points together to finish things off.

However, after failing to take advantage of a match point at 5-2, she lost six of the next seven points to give her opponent a sniff of a chance, and Rus then saved another match point before levelling proceedings at 5-5.

The 20-year-old was now playing extremely well and she broke Clijsters - whose dream of a third grand slam title in a row was fast fading - for a second successive time before taking the second set with her fifth game in a row.

The Belgian, who did not appear to be moving particularly well, stopped the rot with a gutsy hold at the start of the third set but then let three break points slip away on the Rus serve.

When the Dutchwoman followed up by breaking again, the prospect of an early exit for Clijsters began to look a distinct probability.

The second seed had an outrageous slice of luck when a ball hit the top of the net and then the net post before dropping back into play but any thoughts that might indicate it was her day after all were swiftly dispelled.

A double fault handed Rus a 4-1 lead and she clinched a famous victory and a place in the third round of a grand slam for the first time on her second match point with a backhand winner.

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Andy Roddick crashes out of Sony Ericsson Open as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer ease through

By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 11:42 AM on 27th March 2011

Defending champion Andy Roddick made a shock early exit from the Sony Ericsson Open on Saturday, suffering a second round loss to Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 6-4 7-6.   

The world No 8, who struggled physically and needed medical treatment during the second set, said that he was likely suffering from a lingering bronchial infection.

'I had a little trouble breathing out there today. I've had something for a little while but I'm going to have it checked out when I get home,' the American revealed.   

Green Mile: Andy Roddick was surprising knocked out of the Sony Ericsson Open in the second round

Roddick was broken in the seventh game as 67th-ranked Cuevas took charge and although he battled on in a tight second set, he looked sluggish and bowed out in the tiebreak with consecutive forehand errors.   

'I'm just frustrated. You don't like going out there with less than what you have got and I feel like I have been doing that a lot,' he said. 'It's not like I'm super mad because I had chances or lost or didn't play. It's just frustrating.'   

The win was the first for Cuevas against a top 10 ranked player and left the tournament without another drawcard after Britain's Andy Murray was defeated by U.S. qualifier Alex Bogomolov on Friday.   

Meanwhile No 1 seed Rafael Nadal had no such problems and was satisfied with his 6-4 6-4 win over Kei Nishikori of Japan.   

Stretching his run: Rafael Nadal was typically ruthless in his win over Kei Nishikori

'I'm very happy about how I played. I think I played at a high level tonight,' Nadal said. 'The feeling was better than last week, so that's important. My serve worked very well at the end of the match.'   

Leading 2-1 in the first set, Nishikori failed to convert on two break opportunities and Nadal promptly broke the Japanese player in the ensuing game. In the eighth game, Nishikori again failed to convert on two break points.   

Nadal broke Nishikori in the opening game of the second set and held serve to close out the match.   

Fed express: Former World No 1 Roger Federer had few problems in his match

Third seed Roger Federer also advanced, enjoying a routine 6-3 6-3 win over Czech Radek Stepanek earlier on Saturday.   

The victory took Federer alongside Pete Sampras with 762 career wins, equal seventh overall. Jimmy Connors tops the list with 1,241 wins.   

'It's a funny stat,' the Swiss said. 'But it shows how long I have been around already, how much I've won all around the world and on all the different surfaces.'   

Federer, seeking his third Miami title, was ruthless, converting all three of his break point chances.

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