And they’re off! Rod Laver, Margaret Court, and Hisense Arenas, along with numerous other show courts, were buzzing with action on Monday as play in the women’s draw began in Melbourne. And it did not take long before what turned out to be a disappointing day for several seeded players unfolded.

Third-seed Simona Halep was first on Rod Laver and appeared to face some early nerves against Karin Knapp. Halep showed visible signs of frustration, perhaps feeling the pressure of her high seed at the first major of the season. However, despite an uncharacteristic 15 unforced errors and finding herself down a break in the first set, she was strong enough to battle back.

Much as in the first set, the Romanian found herself down an early break in the second and later dropped another service game. Halep continued to show signs of discontent, speaking to herself while displaying annoyed expressions to her box. Nonetheless, she dictated play in the set and benefited from 40 unforced errors by her opponent. Despite failing to play up to her expectations, Halep cruised in the set and took the match at 6-3 6-2.

Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic was not as fortunate. In the first set, she overcame a handful of service drawbacks against Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic and took the set at 6-1. However, the second set proved to be a more daunting challenge for the Serb, who dug herself a 0-3 hole and lost the rhythm gained in the opening set. Ivanovic struggled with her serve, particularly her ball toss, as she tried to fight from behind in the set. But she found the hill too steep to climb, falling 3-6.

With her emotions surfacing, Ivanovic continued to struggle in the third set, and Hradecka took advantage jumping out to a service break edge. Sensing that the 27-year old was in trouble, Hradecka continued to apply the pressure. Feeling the stress, Ivanovic’s predicament was compounded as play advanced in the set. She yielded another break to the Czech, which proved too much to overcome. In the first major upset of the tournament, Hradecka advanced 1-6 6-3 6-2. The loss slowed Ivanovic’s surge to the top as she continued her recent struggles at major tournaments.

Ivanovic summed up her performance by saying “There are always nerves in the beginning. I felt in the second and third sets that I really dropped my level.”

Elsewhere, ninth-seeded Angelique Kerber faced a feisty Irina-Camelia Begu in Margaret Court Arena. The Romanian made her presence known, quickly breaking the German early in the first set. Using aggressive angles and timely volleys, Begu jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first set. Kerber finally began to heat up, fighting to gain her service breaks back. But it was too little, too late as she dropped another service game and the set and was forced to play from behind.

Despite the deficit, Kerber quickly tilted the match in her favor after her slow start by taking the second  set at love. But Begu regained the advantage in the third set of the streaky match. Kerber, who appeared to favor her back late, struggled with her mobility. She continued to fight but was clearly not at her best, and she ultimately fell 4-6 6-0 1-6.

It was a difficult day overall for seeded women as Sabine Lisicki, Belinda Bencic, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova joined Ivanovic and Kerber, exiting in early action on Monday.