Marianne Werdel Witmeyer is one of the few touring tennis pros to wear sunglasses on the court, which makes her look like a celebrity.
And the 27-year-old Californian earned some attention Monday, eliminating top-ranked Arantxa Sanchez Vicario from the Lipton Championships with a 6-2, 7-5 victory.Werdel Witmeyer's next computer ranking - no worse than 27th - will be the highest of her career, at age 27.
"I guess if you look at the average age, I am definitely over the hill," she said, "but I don't feel like it."
Sanchez Vicario's third-round departure was the earliest by a top seed in the 11-year history of the event. She'll remain No. 1 even if second-ranked Steffi Graf wins the tournament.
Werdel Witmeyer, a hard-hitter ranked 33rd, earned the biggest victory of her career and established a trend that the men's field followed for much of the day.
Third-seeded Michael Chang, No. 4 Alberto Berasategui and No. 7 Jim Courier also lost. Top-ranked Pete Sampras and No. 2 Andre Agassi withstood the wave of upsets, posting straight-set victories.
Werdel Witmeyer upset Gabriela Sabatini in this year's Australian Open and reached the semifinals, losing to Sanchez Vicario.
This time, Werdel Witmeyer controlled the match from the start. She won three service games at love in the second set and broke Sanchez Vicario in the final game.
On match point, the former Stanford star hit a backhand off the net cord. Sanchez Vicario didn't move as she watched the ball fall softly on her side of the court.
Sanchez Vicario, the Lipton champ in 1992 and 1993, won eight titles last year but has none this year through three tournaments. She declined to blame windy weather, a sore ankle or bad luck for the most recent defeat.
"Some players go through stages where you're not as good as you want to be," she said. "There are many more tournaments to play. You cannot win everything; that is the way I see it."
Courier will support that view. He had beaten Mark Woodforde three times in the past 10 weeks without dropping a set, yet lost to the Australian 6-3, 6-4 on Monday.
Berasategui lost to Jaime Yzaga of Peru 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 and Dutchman Jan Siemerink beat Chang 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Sampras, the two-time defending champion, beat Jared Palmer 6-4, 6-4 and Agassi swept Tommy Ho 6-0, 6-2.