LONDON, June 15 -- Serena Williams was knocked out by the top seed Vera Zvonareva 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 at Eastbourne ATP/WTA tournament on Wednesday.
It took Zvonareva three hours and 12 minutes to oust the 13-time Grand Slam champion.
"I know I can do better," Williams said. "I can improve and I'm so close to being there, it's good."
The No. 3-ranked Russian gained a measure of revenge for her 6-3, 6-2 loss in last year's Wimbledon final that turned out to be Williams' last match for almost a year as she recovered from a cut on her foot which led to blood clots on her lungs.
Willianms was awarded a Wimbledon seeding of seventh on the same day, 19 places above her world ranking. Williams was beaten on grass for the first time since she lost the 2008 final at the All England Club to her sister Venus.
However, the four-time Wimbledon winner said she was happy with her preparations for the defense of her title, and even happier that the foot injury was no longer troubling her.
"It was a good two matches for me," Serena said. "I couldn't be happier with the amount of tennis I played so it's good, just keep going. I haven't played in almost a year so I'm a little sore. But it's good that I'm sore now because hopefully next week I won't be as sore. (The foot) is holding up really well and I'm just really excited about that."