Samantha Stosur has fallen at the first hurdle in the Dubai Championships after being forced to qualify for a tournament for the first time in a decade.
The former world No.4 looked like she was back to her best, winning the opening set easily against Estonia's Anett Kontaveit before falling 1-6 6-2 6-4.
Stosur came from 2-5 down in the third set, reaching 4-5 but double-faulting on a Kontaveit match point as she served to stay in the match.
The 2011 US Open champion was forced to go through qualifying for the first time since the 2008 Zurich Open and made the main draw with an easy win over Greece's Maria Sakkari.
Wang Qiang of China beat KiKi Bertens 6-3 6-0 in 55 minutes while Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro stopped Russian qualifier Sonya Zhuk 6-2 6-2.
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Germany's revitalised Angelique Kerber began her campaign with a 6-2 6-1 defeat of Barbora Strycova to reach the second round.
Former world No.1 Kerber, a 2017 semi-finalist on the Aviation Club hard courts, lost her opening service game before clicking into gear and running off the victory.
The 30-year-old - who had a rough 2017 after reaching the top spot - has steadied well in 2018, returning to the top 10, winning in Sydney and making the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Her defeat of Strycova gave her a 7-1 record in the series with the 25th-ranked Czech, who was Dubai runner-up in 2016.
"It's always tough to play her, but I was just focusing on my game," Kerber said. "I was playing aggressive and going point by point.
"I'm feeling great so far this season, winning matches is really a great feeling, it's always important for me."
She will face CiCi Bellis, who advanced with a straight-sets win over Australian Open semi-finalist Elise Mertens.
Fifth seed Caroline Garcia booked her place in the second round with a 6-3 7-5 win over Lucie Safarova.
Sara Errani rounded out the day's winners with victory over Lesia Tsurenko.
