Fifth-seeded Alicia Molik of Australia was stunned in the first round by Argentine Mariana Diaz-Oliva 7-6 (1), 6-7 (4), 6-4 at the 585,000-dollar China Open of WTA tour series, while Olympic champions Li Ting/Sun Tiantian stumbled through on Monday.

Molik, whose current WTA ranking is 14, encountered a tough challenge in a sea-sawed first set. In the sixth game, Molik broke Diaz-Oliva's service but was broken in the next. The set was stretched to a tie-breaker, in which she easily gave up after coming by only one point

"Absolutely it's beyond my expectation," the winner of five WTA tours complained.

In the second set, right-handed Molik rallied back to force her opponent into another tie-breaker, and won at 7-4. In the decider, the semifinalist at 2004 Olympics was broken in the first game and trailed all the way to give in at 6-4.

"I hope I will be more lucky in 2006 Australian Open," the quarterfinalist in 2005 Australian Open said.

Olympic champions Li Ting/Sun Tiantian came back from one set down to beat their rivals 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5). Li/Sun, who made history for Chinese tennis by making to the quarterfinal at this year's French Open, didn't find their form in the first set but rallied to make to the second round in next two straight sets.

Earlier in the afternoon, Li played a qualifying singles match against German Martina Muller, losing at 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Fatigue cost her too many errors.

In an early singles match, Ai Sugiyama of Japan defeated her compatriot Akiko Morigami 7-6, 6-4. Chinese Liu Wanting/Sun Shengnan outscored Australian Lisa Mcshea Bryanne Stewart 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-6 (4). Latvian Liga Dekmeijere/Martina Muller of Germany slashed Japanese Shinobu Asagoe/Janet Lee of Chinese Taipei in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.

(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2005)