Venus Williams' comeback from injury came to a shuddering halt on Saturday when she was hustled out of the Australian Open by doubles specialist Lisa Raymond in the third round.
Belgium's Kim Clijsters suffered no such mishap, routing Russian teenager Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-1 and home crowd favourite Mark Philippoussis thrilled Melbourne Park with a barnstorming win over Mario Ancic of Croatia.
Third seed Venus had been a heavy favourite going into the match, despite this being her first tournament since the Wimbledon final last July, but she was caught cold by 30-year-old compatriot Raymond and went down 6-4, 7-6.
"I am pretty much in shock," Venus said. "I still can't believe it, but that's the way I feel after every loss.
"It is definitely going to settle in this evening. It will be like 'No!', but that's the way it is, you win some, you lose some."
Venus was playing her first tournament for six months after a stomach muscle injury and looked flat from the start.
She committed 44 unforced errors in a mistake-riddled performance on Rod Laver Arena and struggled for accuracy throughout.
"She played good, she had a lot of shots rockin' and rollin' today. It was nice for her," said Venus, runner-up to younger sister Serena here last year.
"She had a lot of good things going for her. I am pretty much in shock," she said.
RAYMOND THRILLED
Raymond had never been beyond the third round of the Australian Open singles in 10 previous visits and was thrilled.
"I knew I had to come into today's match and really step up to the plate," she said. "I didn't let myself down."
Clijsters, who had been an injury doubt coming into the tournament, has been in fantastic form through the first three rounds of the year's first Grand Slam and is yet to drop a set.
On Saturday she knocked Safina off in 57 minutes and will next play 20th-seeded Italian Silvia Farina Elia.
"I didn't have any expectations about getting into the tournament because of my injury so being in the second week is nice," Clijsters said. "I never really thought I would participate in the tournament so it's definitely a bonus."
In the men's field, local wildcard Todd Reid's heroics were very much a thing of the past when he was outclassed 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 by second seed Roger Federer.
"I felt good, hit freely nothing to complain about," Federer said.
Reid, who overcame vomiting and cramps to beat Armenia's Sargis Sargsian in the second round, never came close to matching the Wimbledon champion, at one point losing 14 games in a row. Federer won in a snappy 74 minutes.
TAUGHT LESSON
"There's definitely a long way to go," Reid said. "He really taught me a lesson out there. Definitely a learning experience."
Federer, the bookies' pre-tournament favourite, has dropped just 20 games so far in Melbourne. He will likely face former world number one Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round.
Philippoussis gave the Australians a boost, though, swatting Ancic 6-4, 7-6, 6-2. "I kept the pressure on...I am happy about that," he said.
Eighth seed David Nalbandian continued to look strong. He outmuscled South Africa's Wayne Ferreira 6-2, 6-4, 7-5. Next up for him could be Tim Henman. The Briton plays Argentine Guillermo Canas later on Saturday.
