BERLIN — Top-ranked Justine Henin was upset by Dinara Safina 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 today in the third round of the German Open, derailing efforts to regain form ahead of the French Open.

Serena Williams breezed to her 17th straight win, ousting Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals. Third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to Alona Bondarenko 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Henin's loss to the 17th-ranked Russian followed a 6-2, 6-0 drubbing by Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open last month, the worst for a No. 1 player in nine years. Maria Sharapova also defeated her in straight sets at the Australian Open.

Henin returned from a month off with a knee injury hoping to restore her confidence in time to win a fifth French Open title.

"Not only for the French, I really wanted to use this tournament to get my confidence back," Henin said. "But it was not enough today — now we'll see the next few weeks."

Henin reached the last six German Open finals, winning three times. The 2003 and 2005 titles set the stage for the first two of her four French Open wins.

Williams is chasing her fourth straight title.

"I tell myself if I play well, I make it easier on myself," Williams said. "I'm not tired, I've had a lot of time off and I am in top shape."

Williams thought she would face Henin in the quarterfinals Friday.

"Obviously, yes, I was ready to play her," Williams said. "But a lot of seeded players went out today. I'm just happy I wasn't one."

Four seeds were beaten, with No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova upset by Alona Bondarenko 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 and No. 10 Agnes Szavay getting past No. 8 Marion Bartoli, 7-5, 7-5.

Fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic advanced 6-2, 6-4 against Maria Kirilenko, along with No. 7 Elena Dementieva, who beat Vera Dushevina 7-5, 6-3.

Safina had never won a set off Henin in five previous meetings.

"Going into the match, I had a feeling today I could win — she hasn't played well since the Australian Open," Safina said.

The Russian led 4-2 in the first set before Henin recovered to break back, winning five games in a row. But Safina took the initiative again in the second, and Henin's chances faded in the third when Safina lobbed over her to take a 3-0 lead.

"The whole match, I didn't have the intensity, I didn't have the consistency," Henin said. "She hit my backhand heavy, I didn't like this so much."

Henin saved five match points while trailing 5-0 and 5-1 in the final set, but missed wide with a forehand to end the match.