MARBELLA, Spain (AP)—Kim Clijsters lost to 258th-ranked Beatriz Garcia Vidagany of Spain 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Andalucia Open on Thursday.
Clijsters, fresh off her second title win of the year at Miami, was broken nine times in a seesaw match in which both players struggled on serve.
Clijsters agreed during the Miami tournament to accept a wild card and play her first clay-court tournament in three years in preparation for the French Open next month. Garcia Vidagany came through qualifying to make her first main draw appearance on the WTA Tour.
The third-seeded Clijsters was broken in the 11th game in losing the first set to Garcia Vidagany. In the second, Clijsters used one of her eight break points in the set to even it.
Garcia Vidagany broke the Belgian to get ahead 2-1 in the final frame and went on to secure easily her biggest win and a spot in the quarterfinals.
Garcia Vidagany will play Sara Errani next, after the Italian player knocked off seventh-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 7-6 (1).
Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over wild card Estrella Cabeza Candela of Spain, while second-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy dispatched qualifier Laura Pous Tio of Spain 6-2, 6-2.
Also, qualifier Simona Halep beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 7-6 (4) in an all-Romanian matchup while eighth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain hung on to defeat Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-4, 7-6 (2) in a match featuring 11 break points.