Ailing Henin falls to qualifier

Justine Henin has been knocked out of the French Open by a qualifier ranked 179th.

The number five seed battled against a fever and sore throat as she lost 4-6 6-1 6-0 to Aniko Kapros of Hungary.

Kapros, 18, was making her debut at Roland Garros after winning the Australian Open junior title in 2000.

She took over in the final two sets by using consistent ground strokes to keep Henin on the move.

"It's beyond frustration. I just feel physically awful," said Henin, who admitted she made a mistake by going on court.

"I was not ready to play this match. This morning when I woke up, I said it will be hard today. I was too tired to compete. I wanted to do it, but I was not able to."

While Henin was ailing, Kapros never felt better.

"I think I had a great day," she said. "I played one of the best matches I ever played."

Henin reached the semi-finals of the tournament last year.

Three other seeded women were eliminated. Shinobu Asagoe beat number 19 seed Anastasia Myskina 3-6 6-2 7-5; Eva Bes overcame 24th-seeded Lisa Raymond 6-4 6-3, and Martina Muller beat number 30 Amanda Coetzer 6-2 6-2.