CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Anna Kournikova was beaten by Conchita Martinez on Tuesday in the Family Circle Cup, the fourth consecutive tournament she lost in straight sets in the first round.

Martinez, celebrating her 30th birthday, beat Kournikova 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 on stadium court. Kournikova double-faulted seven times and had 56 unforced errors.

"I can't get any more disappointed," said the 20-year-old Kournikova, who was ranked No. 8 in the world last May, but finished the season at No. 74 after undergoing surgery on her foot for a stress fracture.

She had started her return this year with a 13-9 match record in nine tournaments, reaching three semifinals, but has lost her opening match in the last four events.

In other Family Circle Cup matches Tuesday, Clarisa Fernandez defeated No. 9 Silvia Farina Elia 7-6 (7-4), 6-0; Mary Pierce, the 2000 Family Circle Cup champion, beat Alicia Molik 6-3, 6-4; and second-seeded Monica Seles rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the first set to beat Amy Frazier 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. Two former Family Circle champs -- No. 10 seed Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and No. 13 Amanda Coetzer -- advanced with straight-set victories.

Just a couple of hours after her defeat to Martinez, Kournikova was back on the practice court, hitting balls as a crowd gathered to watch one of the sport's most popular players.

Martinez said Kournikova "doesn't have a lot of patience sometimes."

"The longer you are out, the longer it takes to come back," Martinez said. "... I was out eight months, and that's a really long time. ... I've got to go back, work, maybe like 100 hours a day.

"Any athlete goes through a point in their career where it kind of gets difficult," she said. "That's where you have to show that yourself that you can do it."

Kournikova's losing streak started March 6 with a 6-1, 6-4 defeat against Lilia Osterloh in the Pacific Life Open. On March 21, she was beaten 7-5, 6-3 by Eleni Daniilidou in the Nasdaq-100 Open. Her most recent setback was 6-4, 6-1 to Paola Suarez in the Bausch & Lomb Championships on April 9.

No. 16 seed Alexandra Stevenson, who sprained her right wrist last week, withdrew from the Family Circle Cup on Tuesday. She was the second seeded player to withdraw from the tournament, joining No. 5 Justine Henin.