Williams falls apart
PARIS – Once a teen sensation herself, Venus Williams lost Tuesday to a 17-year-old upstart at the French Open.
Nicole Vaidisova pulled off her second successive shocker at Roland Garros, beating Williams 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3 to earn her first Grand Slam semifinal berth.
Williams was the lone American, male or female, to reach the second week of the tournament. At 25, the five-time Grand Slam winner was the oldest women’s quarterfinalist, and she again came up short in her 10th try for a Roland Garros title.
“Obviously I’m disappointed,” Williams said. “I would have loved to have done better.”
Also eliminated was Martina Hingis, meaning the French Open remains the only major event she has yet to win. Two-time runner-up Kim Clijsters won 7-6 (5), 6-1 over Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam champion who played in the tournament for the first time since 2001.
Clijsters’ opponent in the semifinals Thursday will be fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne, a two-time champion, who beat Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-5, 6-2.
Top-ranked Roger Federer won his 26th Grand Slam match in a row, beating No. 12-seeded Mario Ancic 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Federer reached the semifinals in his eighth consecutive major event.
“To make it to the semis was my first objective in Paris,” said Federer, anticipating a possible showdown Sunday against defending champion Rafael Nadal. “I’m much more relaxed now. There was enormous pressure at the start of the tournament, with everybody speaking about a final against Nadal, but first you have to win the matches before you get there.”
The pattern of Vaidisova’s victory was remarkably similar to her previous match, when she stunned top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-2. Again Vaidisova staged a comeback.
“She played really good tennis and seems to be on a roll,” Williams said.
When a Williams forehand sailed long on match point – her 70th unforced error – Vaidisova dropped her racket and threw up her arms in glee.
“I’ve surprised myself a little,” said Vaidisova, seeded 16th. “Twice in a row with some great play … it definitely boosts your confidence a lot.”
The German-born, Florida-based Czech has drawn comparisons to Maria Sharapova, who was 17 when she won Wimbledon in 2004. Vaidisova’s semifinal opponent will be Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who reached the Roland Garros semifinals for the first time by overcoming an early 5-1 deficit and beating Dinara Safina 7-6 (5), 6-0.
Vaidisova said she used a Venus Williams racket as a child and was making her Grand Slam debut at the 2004 U.S. Open when she first saw Williams in person.
“I saw her in the locker room. I was very excited,” Vaidisova said. “I admired her style of game.”
The teen had the steadier style, pulling ahead to stay at 3-2 in the third set when Williams double-faulted to lose serve. Vaidisova erased a break point to hold in the next game, won a series of brilliant rallies to hold again for 5-3, then broke serve for the sixth time to clinch the win.
Williams was seeded 11th and playing only her 14th match this year after being sidelined 3 1/2 months with arm and elbow injuries, which may have contributed to her erratic play.
“During the last six weeks, I had a lot of challenges physically that I was able to overcome just to be here today,” the reigning Wimbledon champion said. “I’m proud of that. I just want to get stronger and get better.”
Vaidisova won despite eight double-faults and 57 unforced errors herself, and from the start she took advantage of Williams’ sloppy shots. Williams struggled not only with her groundstrokes but when she came forward, blowing two overheads and netting several easy volleys.
She lost four consecutive games early, committing 15 unforced errors as she fell behind 4-1. Then, thanks to a flurry of mistakes by Vaidisova, Williams won 16 of the next 19 points to lead 5-4.
Vaidisova settled down and took a 5-2 lead in the tiebreaker, but again Williams rallied. She won the last five points – two with winners, three on Vaidisova errors – to take the set.
In the second set, Vaidisova won a 16-point game to break for a 3-1 lead, and won the final five games of the set as the match began to slip away from Williams.
Clijsters, seeded second, took quick leads in both sets and finished with 31 winners to 15 for Hingis.
“I knew that I needed to improve my game compared to my last few matches, and I did,” Clijsters said. “I stepped it up.”
Clijsters, who has yet to lose a set in the tournament, can regain the No. 1 ranking from Mauresmo if she reaches the final.
Hingis, mounting a career comeback from injuries, also lost to Clijsters in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open – her first major event since being sidelined for three years by injuries.
“I can’t be disappointed,” Hingis said. “I can take a lot of good things from here.”