China's Wang Qiang hits a return against Italy's Sara Errani during their women's singles match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Feb 8, 2021. (BRANDON MALONE / AFP)

SYDNEY - China's highest-ranked tennis player, Wang Qiang, departed the Australian Open in the first round on Monday, losing a marathon battle with Italy's Sara Errani, 6-2, 4-6, 4-6.

Deep in the second set, Wang Qiang exited the court to receive medical treatment on what appeared to be her left leg, which was taped before the match

Wang made a name for herself after beating Serena Williams at last year's event. However, this year appeared troubled by issues with her leg as she was unable to maintain match-winning form long enough to progress.

The 29-year-old initially appeared primed to make a strong showing, striking early in the first set and landing several well-placed winners to gain a 3-0 advantage. A powerful cross-court backhand served Wang well as she went on to claim the first set.

However, Errani struck back, going 3-0 in the second set, with Wang appearing like she may be headed for a repeat of last week's warm-up event, where she squandered a commanding lead against Jasmine Paolini, losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.

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Deep in the second set, Wang exited the court to receive medical treatment on what appeared to be her left leg, which was taped before the match.

Wang returned with a wrapping around her upper thigh and appeared like a brand new player, claiming the next two games while losing only a single point.

However, Errani's blistering forehand kept Wang's counterattack at bay and secured the Italian an equalizing second set.

Errani served first in the deciding third and final set, but Wang was back in form. Recovering from her mid-match slump, the Chinese player moved around the court and placed shots in the same manner, which easily won her the opening set.

With Wang again able to clinch back-of-the-court winners, she gained a domineering 4-1 lead in the third set, helped by retaining her second serve game with three aces.

The Chinese favorite appeared headed for victory. However, the twists kept coming. Errani lifted her game to win three straight games, leveling the score back to 4-4 and positioning herself on serve ahead of the crucial ninth game.

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Both players battled for the edge in a nail-biting duel, which went to deuce six times before a well-timed drop shot from Errani caught Wang off guard and allowed the Italian to claim the crucial game.

From there, three unforced errors and a double fault handed the Italian the match, leaving a stunned crowd to ask what could have been as the promising Chinese player's tournament ended almost as quickly as it had begun.