NEW YORK, USA - A nightmarish week for Russian women's stars at the US Open ended Monday with their staunchest defender, French Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, sent packing to complete an epic Grand Slam collapse.

World number one Dinara Safina, fourth seed Elena Dementieva and sixth seed Kuznetsova led four Russians among the top eight seeds and one-quarter of the 32 total seeds.

None of them reached the final eight of the year's last Slam.

Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki ousted Kuznetsova 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/3) while another teen, 70th-ranked American Melanie Oudin, dropped Russian 13th seed Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.

"I lost it myself because I made so many unforced errors," Kuznetsova said after 69 of them.

"So many unforced errors, you can't win against anybody. No chance."

It was a familiar refrain for Russian stars, three of whom went down to rising star Oudin.

"I have a feeling like I didn't really finish my job off on the court," Petrova said. "I just dropped a little bit of focus but I think it was more fatigue."

Safina, who will stay number one despite an early exit, lost the opening set in all three of her matches, twice rallying to rescue her hopes for a first Grand Slam before losing to Czech teen Petra Kvitova in the third round.

"Everything is in the head because here everything knows how to do the right thing. It knows and it stops me," Safina said. "I'm in too much not to lose a match. It's blocking me."

Safina said she could not recall her last match without crushing tension.

"It's not happening too often this year," she said. "I go to the court with so much that I want to win, and I put so much tension in it not to lose and that's why I'm not playing relaxed."

The mental struggles and lack of discipline to close out matches when leading made bitter irony of Kuznetsova's defense of herself and compatriots against charges of being "head cases" at the start of the tournament.

"Every Russian should get the respect," Kuznetsova said. "Everybody has their own problems. Dinara, she maybe has a real bad something missing in her game. I maybe have something missing in mine.

"That is the life, in and out of the court, for everybody."

For the Russians, it's definitely out for now.