Last year's Australian Open runner-up Amelie Mauresmo was one of three women's seeds to crash out at Melbourne on Wednesday.

The French seventh seed was beaten 6-4 6-4 by Swiss world no 29 Patty Schnyder.

Mauresmo was involved in controversy at last year's Open when champion Martina Hingis called her "half-man".

Last week's warm-up tournament win in Sydney suggested she was now ready to break into the elite group of women players.

Mary Pierce, Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport, three of the top five ranked players, were defeated as Mauresmo gained a career-best ranking of world no 6.

But on Wednesday the French woman committed 48 unforced errors and suffered one disastrous game in each set.

In the first set's ninth game, the seventh seed started with two double faults and lost her serve at love.

In the second set's third game, Mauresmo again lost her serve at love on two volley errors, a forehand into the net and a double fault.

"Today was one of those days you should probably stay in bed," Mauresmo said.

"Of course, I'm very disappointed, but it's one of those days where nothing is really working. Every part of my game was down."

A bad day for the French women at this year's tournament continued when Nathalie Tauziat also crashed out in straight sets.

Canadian qualifier Sonya Jeyaseelan beat the fifth seed 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.

Two French seeds did win their match, although ofurth-seeded Mary Pierce beat compatriot Amelie Cocheteux 6-2, 6-2.

Meanwhile Julie Halard-Decugis, the ninth seed, defeated Colombia's Fabiola Zuluaga 6-3, 6-3.

Capriati rules the Roost

The third seed to leave the tournament on Wednesday was Belgium's Dominique Van Roost.

Former Olympic champion Jennifer Capriati of the US beat her 6-1, 4-6, 8-6.

Capriati now meets China's Yi Jian-qian, conqueror of the last British woman in the tournament, Julie Pullin.

In other matches, Wimbledon champion Davenport beat American compatriot Marissa Irvin 6-4, 7-5.

Amanda Coetzer, the eight seed, completed a 6-2, 6-3 first-round victory over Russia's Tatiana Panova.

And eleventh seed Anna Kournikova of Russia beat Natasha Zvereva 6-1, 6-4.

Dokic's conspiracy theory

Away from the court Australian Jelena Dokic continues to make headlines, despite her first-round defeat.

The teenage conqueror of Hingis at Wimbledon last year was fined after arriving five hours late for a news conference where she criticised victorious opponent Rita Kuti Kis on Monday.

Now the 16-year-old now claims officials have manipulated draws against her.

She said in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper that a plot had been at work since her Serbian refugee father Damir was arrested in England last year for causing a disturbance.

"You want to do the best you can, and I want to be better than I am," she said.

"That's the key to it when you get all those tough draws.

"They say they pull them out (of a hat), but I don't think so. It's a bit hard to believe getting draws like that."