Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic's poor run in Doha continued when the second seed was knocked out of the Qatar Open second round 7-6 6-2 by Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek today.
The gloomy mood on centre court which followed Ivanisevic's defeat was lifted, however, as top seed Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov booked a quarter-final berth after beating compatriot Nikolay Davydenko 6-7 6-4 6-4.
Stepanek did nothing extraordinary in Ivanisevic's downfall, but the volatile Croatian, playing his first tournament since beginning compulsory military service, was at war with himself.
He missed several easy shots, gifting Stepanek the upper hand and eventually the match.
"He played good tennis and I missed too many easy shots," said Ivanisevic, a first round loser here a year ago.
"I had my chances to win but I missed them. He held a big lead in the second set and I was always under pressure.
The result would have been different had I won the first set. I had a bad day."
Stepanek said he was surprised by the result.
"I played my natural game. Of course he is a big player and I started a bit nervously. I waited for him to make the mistakes and he sort of obliged," the Czech said.