Seventh seeded Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany was eliminated by Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko in a tight three setter 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the first round of the 1.34 million dollar Qatar Open here on Tuesday.
Bondarenko, who came through the qualifiers, made Groenefeld pay the penalty for playing an error-ridden match and set up a second round clash with Indian star Sania Mirza in the second round on Wednesday.
Groenefeld showed enough pluck to stay in the game after losing the first set, but her largely one-dimensional power game meant she would be always at a disadvantage against the fast-moving Bondarenko, whose sister, Alona, has also qualified for the event.