The 2006 Australian Open champion was beaten in the third round today by upstart Casey Dellacqua before a partisan Rod Laver Arena crowd that included Dellacqua's grandmother, crying at the end, and about a dozen other relatives.

Former No. 1 Mauresmo, on the wrong end of a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 score Friday, was left to suffer in silence at the end of another tournament that might have been.

Last year, Mauresmo lost in the fourth round here. She had an appendectomy in March and sat out two months, then missed another two months with an injured groin muscle and did not play the U.S. Open.

The injuries and indifferent form meant she ended last year ranked 18th, a drop from No. 3 the previous year when she had Grand Slam wins at the Australian Open — after Justine Henin pulled out mid-match with a stomach bug — and at Wimbledon. She spent 35 weeks at No. 1.

Two weeks ago, she re-injured her groin muscle after losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian women's hard courts, which forced her to withdraw from the Sydney International the following week.

On Friday, 10 double-faults didn't help her cause.

"Well, it's definitely not the best thing to do in key moments, for sure," Mauresmo said of her poor serving. "Not only that, I'm sure you have other statistics on unforced errors and things like that that are pretty high."

She was right. She had 43 unforced errors to Dellacqua's 38. But Mauresmo was only able to convert 5 of 12 break-point chances, while Dellacqua was 6 for 8.

Mauresmo said Dellacqua made more of her opportunities, and not just on break points.

"That's the area of the game I should have done better, and been more aggressive in those moments, Mauresmo said. "I'm a little bit frustrated and disappointed."

And Dellacqua, ranked 78th, was elated. She beat another seeded player, Patty Schnyder, in the second round and next faces No. 3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.

After having to buy most of her clothes from a discount department store, Dellacqua has taken advantage of her newfound success and exposure to score a clothing endorsement contract.

"I'm shaking so much, I'm so excited," said Dellacqua, who fancies her chances against Jankovic.

"For me, I've still got nothing to lose. I'm in a great position. I'm just going to go out there and go for it."

Mauresmo said Jankovic will be tough.

"In this sport, anything can happen," Mauresmo said. "I would still give Jelena as a favorite for the next match. Jelena has also had some tough matches, but she is strong physically."

Mauresmo, who heads back to France for the Paris indoor tournament beginning Feb. 4, said even a win Friday wouldn't have made her happy.