Sam Stosur’s French Open preparations have hit a hurdle, with the former world No.4 knocked out of the Family Circle Cup in the second round.

In a bad day for seeds at the WTA claycourt tournament in South Carolina, second seed Ekaterina Makarova joined the ninth-seeded Stosur in exiting the tournament on Wednesday.

Unlike Stosur’s unexpected 6-3 3-6 6-4 loss to Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena, Makarova withdrew with a stomach illness only hours after winning her opening match.

Makarova felt stomach pain during her 5-7 6-3 6-2 win over China’s Zhang Shuai and saw trainers after the match.

She said in a statement she and her team feel it’s best to get healthy for the remainder of the clay-court season.

Makarova’s departure means 13th-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu, the 26-year-old Russian’s next opponent, will advance to Friday’s quarterfinals.

“I’m really disappointed to have to withdraw here in Charleston,” Makarova said.

“It’s one of my favourite tournaments and I’ve really enjoyed my time here these past few days.

“Unfortunately I felt pain in my stomach today during the match and called the trainers, but it hasn’t got any better.”

Meanwhile, Canadian starlet and world No.7 Eugenie Bouchard slumped to yet another early exit, beaten in her first match by American Lauren Davis.

Davis, ranked 66th in the world, needed just 67 minutes to subdue the Canadian 6-3 6-1 and reach the third round.

AP jb/rj