Former world number one Maria Sharapova showed the seeded players the way with a superb win at the Pan Pacific Open as more big names fell by the wayside.
The Russian, unseeded as she makes her way back after injury, thrashed Sam Stosur 6-0 6-1 to reach the last 16.
Earlier, third seed Elena Dementieva went down 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 to Kateryna Bondarenko in Tokyo.
And there was more bad news for tournament organisers when Caroline Wozniacki retired through illness.
The Danish fourth seed, who finished runner-up at the US Open earlier this month, trailed Aleksandra Wozniak 5-0 when she withdrew.
Top seeds Dinara Safina and Venus Williams, along with fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, lost on day one and the tournament has been decimated of its leading players.
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