Second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova bowed out of the Grand Prix SAR after being forced to retire in her match with Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu.
Kuznetsova, the Russian star and former French and US Open champion, breezed through the first set 6-1, lost the second in a tiebreaker and was down 3-2 in the third when she pulled out.
Top-seed Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain advanced, beating Luxembourg's Mandy Minella 6-2 6-3.
Third-seeded Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic topped Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky 6-3 6-2, and fifth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania beat compatriot Alexandra Cadantu 6-2 7-5.
