Anna Chakvetadze

Montreal: Seven seeds missed out on the chance to benefit from Kim Clijsters’ premature withdrawal from the Rogers Cup as unsung players hogged the limelight in second-round action on Wednesday.

Clijsters, the world No. 2 and defending champion in Montreal, was forced to withdraw after suffering a wrist injury.

Third seed Nadia Petrova slumped to her fourth successive defeat when she was upset by fellow-Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-1 6-4. Chakvetadze, who also beat Petrova in San Diego earlier in the month, will next play Nathalie Dechy of France, who knocked out 15th-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-4 6-4.

Fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina continued her unpredictable run of form by exiting at the hands of Israel’s Shahar Peer. The sixth seed went down 6-7, 7-5, 4-6 for her second defeat at the first hurdle. (Reuters)