Australian No.1 Ashleigh Barty has bowed out of the Birmingham Classic after a 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 defeat to fifth-seeded Julia Goerges.
Barty was unable to follow up her triumph at the Nottingham tournament last week as she struggled to deal with the German's aggressive game that produced 42 winners.
And she was left frustrated as she was unable to convert seven set points in the opening set.
"I don't know how many set points she had, but I think it was very important for me to win that first set somehow," said Goerges, who wrapped up victory in an hour and 35 minutes to reach the quarter-finals.
"I think she started to think about not taking her chances and I got a little bit of extra air.
"My serve was a very big key today and it helped me a lot in the big moments. Until last year, I didn't win a grass court match in five years, so maybe I've changed my opinion about grass now."
Barty's fellow Australian Daria Gavrilova suffered a straight-sets defeat in the second round to defending champion Petra Kvitova.
Fourth-seeded Kvitova broke early in the first set and hit some powerful backhands and strong returns to wrap up the contest 6-2 6-2 in one hour and 18 minutes.
Gavrilova won their last two match-ups being stubborn and mobile enough to contain Kvitova's uncompromising hitting. But this time around the wind pushed and pulled the Australian into errors at important moments.
"I think a few of the games were very tight, especially when you need to break. It's always tough to get the break on the grass," Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, said.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza suffered a 6-2 6-4 exit at the hands of unseeded Czech Barbora Strycova.
The experienced Strycova, a runner-up at this Edgbaston tournament in 2014 and 2016, picked up a double break early in the first set and eventually defeated the top seed with surprising ease in just under 90 minutes.
The defeat comes as a setback for Spaniard Muguruza's grasscourt preparations ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on July 2.
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