FORMER champion Maria Sharapova suffered a shock second-round exit at the hands of fellow-Russian Alla Kudryavtseva.

Sharapova, the third seed, was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by a player ranked 154th in the world and making only her second appearance here.

The 2004 champion had been the pre-tournament favourite but admitted she had been outplayed in every department.

"Everybody goes through it, everybody has these moments, but I'm experienced enough to know that life goes on and that there are a lot worse things in life that can happen than losing a tennis match, even if it's at Wimbledon and even if it means a lot to me," Sharapova said.

"I still have the desire, even 30 minutes after the match, to go back on court and to get better, because that's the only thing that's going to get me to hold that plate again."

Kudryavtseva was as forthright off the court as she had been on it, claiming her dislike of Sharapova's much-publicised outfit - featuring men's shorts - was part of her motivation to win.

"It's very pleasant to beat Maria. Why? I don't like her outfit. Can I put it this way?" said the 20-year-old.

"She experiments, and I give her credit for that. She's brave enough to experiment. Sometimes she has good ones, sometimes not."

Second seed Jelena Jankovic had no such problems in winning her second-round match in straight sets, while there were also victories for French Open finalist Dinara Safina and defending champion Venus Williams.

Gisela Dulko was handed a walkover when former champion Lindsay Davenport was forced to withdraw with a knee injury.