Anna Kournikova and top seed Julie Halard-Decugis of France crashed out of the Australian Women's Hardcourt Championships on the Gold Coast yesterday.

The French top seed collapsed 6-0 6-1 to in-form Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva while 18-year-old Kournikova was rolled in three sets by Croatia's top player, Silvija Talaja.

Kournikova had an easy ride into the quarter-finals of this event - a bye in the first round before second-round opponent, Jana Kandarr, retired injured after losing the first set.

But the thousands of fans who bought tickets to the sell-out final on Saturday will be bitterly disappointed, with the Russian playing only four sets. Kournikova took the first set 64, winning the last five games after being down 4-0. She struggled to hold serve in the second set, which went to Talaja 6-4 in just over half an hour.

The Russian then gave away a 2-1 lead in the final set to let the Croatian cruise home 6-2. The losses left the door open for Spanish tour veterans Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Conchita Martinez. SanchezVicario breezed into a quarterfinal meeting with defending champion Patty Schnyder with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Rita Grande, while Martinez now plays Sabine Appelmans.

Jelena Dokic inspired Australia to a dramatic victory over Austria in Perth yesterday in the Hopman Cup. Crushed by Barbara Schett in the opening set, Dokic staged a stunning recovery to score a 1-6 6-2 7-5 win. Mark Philippoussis also won, outplaying Stefan Koubek 6-3 3-6 6-1 in the men's singles as Australia waltzed to a 2-0 lead.