By Stephen Wilson

LONDON (AP) _ After four days without a significant upset, four top players were eliminated at Wimbledon on Friday _ including former champion Martina Hingis.

Hingis, the 1997 winner who is in the midst of a comeback after three years off the tour, squandered a 3-0 lead in the third set and fell 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to Japan's Ai Sugiyama.

Fourth-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina, runner-up in 2002, lost 7-6 (9), 7-6 (9), 6-2 to 30th-ranked Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the third round.

Women's No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, a former U.S. Open champion and finalist at the French Open three weeks ago, was ousted 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 by Li Na, who became the first Chinese woman to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Eighth-seeded James Blake of the U.S. faded against 53rd-ranked Max Mirnyi of Belarus and lost in five sets _ extending the American's record in five-setters to 0-9.

Blake won just nine points in the last set as Mirnyi pulled away for a 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory.

The 12th-seeded Hingis was one of only three women's champions in the draw, along with three-time winner Venus Williams and 2004 champ Maria Sharapova.

She has made a strong return since her long layoff due to foot and ankle injuries.

But Hingis couldn't put away the 18th-seeded Sugiyama, who had lost six of her previous seven matches to the Swiss player.

Sugiyama, who turns 31 next week and is playing her 14th Wimbledon, converted all five break points she earned on Hingis' serve, including three in the final set.

At 3-0 in the third, Hingis lost four straight games to let Sugiyama take control.

In the seventh game, Hingis slipped twice on the baseline, losing both points. She made three unforced errors in the last game, hitting a crosscourt backhand wide on match point.