Japan No. 1 Ai Sugiyama returns a shot during a rough outing against Italy's Roberta Vinci at Pan Pacific Open on Tuesday.

What has befallen the once super Ai Sugiyama?

A year ago Japan's top player was ranked 10th in the world and looking for more. These days Sugiyama is looking for someone she can beat.

A far cry from the player who won her sixth WTA singles title last year, Sugiyama hit rock bottom Tuesday in 6-2, 3-6, 2-6 opening-round loss to Italy's unremarkable Roberta Vinci in the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

It was the 29-year-old's fourth consecutive first-round defeat of the year and it came before the less than impressed hometown fans at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Sugiyama is now 0-for-2005 and is desperately seeking a win.

``I have to start winning. The season is well under way and I can't continue making excuses about my training,'' said Sugiyama, who has been recovering from an ankle injury.

``I wasn't ready for the first two tournaments of the year, but it's more of a mental thing now. I have to start building toward the second half. I don't like to rush myself, but I have no choice now. I have to win a match.''

Sugiyama, who two weeks ago exited posthaste from the Australian Open, blitzed through the first set Tuesday, moving well and hitting solid shots, making the strings sing with some sweet strokes from the baseline.

Things immediately took a turn for the worse in the second set, as 21-year-old Vinci mixed in deft backhand drop shots with strong forehands, breaking Sugiyama twice and taking a 5-0 lead. Sugiyama stopped spraying shots long enough to mount a mini-comeback, winning three straight games, but Vinci held serve to force a third set.

The deciding set was a carbon-graphite copy of the second. Vinci was up 4-0 before Sugiyama held serve to get on the board.

With the local hero trailing 5-1 and serving for her life, a fan shouted the English equivalent of ``C'mon Sugiyama, get your act together!''

This remark drew the loudest applause of the match, but failed to sufficiently spur Sugiyama. She held serve, but bowed out minutes later, sailing a forehand long to give Vinci a well deserved, if unpopular win.

``Hearing the fans shout encouragement made me want to try harder, but I couldn't respond. I couldn't play my game,'' Sugiyama said.

``My ankle isn't 100 percent yet, but it seems fine when I run on it in practice. But a match isn't like practice. I started out well but (Vinci) started playing a lot better and I lost my rhythm.

``It's hard to play with confidence when you haven't won. I just have to get over it and look ahead.''

Sugiyama wasn't the only seed to make an early exit. Iveta Benesova toppled No. 7 Jelena Jankovic, coming back from a 6-1 defeat in the first set to take the next two, 6-3 and 6-1.

No. 8 seed Daniela Hantuchova swept aside Alina Jidkova 6-1, 6-4 and No. 6 Elena Likhovtseva defeated Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-0, 6-0.

In two all-Japan matches, Shinobu Asagoe trounced Yuka Yoshida 6-2, 6-1 and Saori Obata walloped Miho Saeki 6-0, 6-1.

In other play, Maria Kirilenko downed Shuai Peng 6-3, 6-2, Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian defeated Nicole Pratt 6-4, 6-3 and Maria Vento-Kabachi disposed of Lila Osterloh 6-3, 6-4.

Osterloh meets No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova today in Sharapova's opening match.(IHT/Asahi: February 2,2005)