Indian Wells, March 14:

Defending champion Maria Sharapova served 13 double faults against fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva, losing 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 and costing her the No 1 ranking at the Pacific Life Open.

Sharapova was beaten in the fourth round and needed to reach the semi-finals to remain No 1. She will be supplanted by Justine Henin when the rankings are updated on Monday.

Meanwhile, Daniela Hantuchova repeated her 2002 final victory over Martina Hingis, this time winning 6-4, 6-3. In men’s play, second-seeded Rafael Nadal routed fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1, 6-1.

Sharapova served for the match at 6-4, 5-4 but won only a point. Zvonareva won the last four games of the second set, and the first four of the third set. Sharapova broke Zvonareva to end the streak but lost her next service game by delivering two double faults. Moments later, Zvonareva clinched a berth in the quarter-finals.

Hantuchova handed third-seeded Hingis her earliest defeat at Indian Wells in seven visits. Hingis, who won on debut in 1998, also came up one win short of passing $20 million in career earnings, and joining Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova in that elite group.

Fourth-seeded Nadia Petrova retired with heat illness while trailing 6-2, 1-0 against Tatiana Golovin, leaving the Frenchwoman to meet Austria’s Sybille Bammer, who defeated Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-3.

Li Na of China eliminated seventh-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 7-6 (1). Shahar Peer of Israel reached the quarter-finals when she downed eighth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze 6-4, 7-6 (2).

Ivan Ljubicic reached the quarter-finals defeating David Nalbandian 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela beat American Michael Russell 6-4, 6-4.