Radwanska`s Doha hopes fade with Moscow defeat

London: Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska was dumped out of the Kremlin Cup in the first round by Russia`s Maria Kirilenko on Wednesday, effectively ending her hopes of qualifying for the season-ending tournament in Doha.

Poland`s Radwanska was battling with Russia`s Vera Zvonareva and Serbia`s Jelena Jankovic for the last remaining spot in next week`s USD 4.55 million extravaganza, but saw her chances disappear following a 6-3, 6-3 defeat by her former doubles partner. "It was a tough match today, I was feeling a bit tired and exhausted," said world number 10 Radwanska. "I was trying because I was still in with a chance for Doha, but the surface is so slow here, you need to run a lot to win the point. Maybe if it was a faster surface, like grass, it would have been better for me, but it wasn`t my day today." Kirilenko, who had lost in the first round in all her four previous appearances in Moscow, was delighted with her victory. "To beat a seeded player in your first match is a great way to start a tournament. I`ve played her three times now and I won twice so I knew what to expect from her," said the world number 61, who also beat Radwanska in the second round of the US Open last month. "I actually like to play her because she is not very aggressive and I always have enough time to hit winners." Italy`s fourth seed Flavia Pennetta followed Radwanska out of the Russian capital when she retired with a knee injury midway through the second set of her first-round match against Hungary`s Agnes Szavay. Russia`s sixth seed Elena Vesnina was upset, going down to 127th-ranked compatriot Evgeniya Rodina 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Last year`s surprise men`s champion Igor Kunitsyn was also knocked out, losing to fellow Russian Evgeny Korolev 7-6, 6-3. Uruguay`s fifth seed Pablo Cuevas became the first player to reach the quarter-finals when he prevailed over Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Third seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia joined Cuevas in the last eight after thrashing Italian Potito Starace 6-1, 6-1. But France`s seventh seed Fabrice Santoro was upset by Ukrainian qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-5, 6-1. In-form top seed Nikolay Davydenko, who won last week`s Shanghai Masters to climb to number six in the world, takes on fellow Russian and former world number one Marat Safin in the first-round action later on Wednesday. Bureau Report