BERLIN, May 8 : World number one Justine Henin was dumped out of the German Open on Thursday, losing 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 to 13th seed Dinara Safina of Russia in the third round.

The Belgian top seed had easily won five previous meetings against the powerful Safina, sister of former men’s world number one Marat Safin, but was broken eight times on the clay at the Steffi Graf Stadium and looked well short of her best.

Safina served for the match at 5-0 in the deciding set but Henin saved three match points and broke back only to lose her service and the match in the next game when she skewed a backhand into the sidelines.

“It’s never easy to lose and to lose that way,” Henin, 25, said. “During the whole match I didn’t have the intensity and the consistency and it was quite tough. There’s nothing more I can really say. She’s been better. That’s it.”

Henin, a three times winner in Berlin and four times French Open champion, was playing a tournament on her favourite clay surface for the first time this year as she prepares to defend her title in Paris at the end of this month.

Serena cruises

The seven times Grand Slam winner misses out on a clash with former world number one Serena Williams in the last eight in Berlin. The American, who has won three tournaments already this year, thumped Poland’s 11th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-1.

Earlier, third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia was upset by 15th-seeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko, losing 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.