Venus makes straight-sets exit
WIMBLEDON, England — The umpire lost track of the score. Venus Williams lost the match.
In a bizarre conclusion to a huge upset, the chair umpire called the wrong score in the second tiebreaker, and Williams fell in straight sets Thursday to Croatia’s Karolina Sprem in the second round at Wimbledon.
The Williams match overshadowed victories by Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt and Goran Ivanisevic and a second-round defeat for former nine-time champion Martina Navratilova.
The 19-year-old Sprem, ranked No. 30, outplayed the second-seeded Williams on Centre Court 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) in the first major surprise of the championships.
Umpire Ted Watts incorrectly called the score as 2-2 in the second-set tiebreaker, giving Sprem a point when instead she should have been taking a second serve.
Both players appeared confused, but neither disputed the call. Tournament referee Alan Mills confirmed the umpire made a mistake but said the result would stand.
It’s the earliest defeat for Williams at a Grand Slam tournament since a first-round loss at the French Open in 2001. It’s also her earliest exit from Wimbledon since going out in the opening round in 1997.
Williams, who won Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001 and lost in the last two finals to her sister, Serena, didn’t blame the scoring error for her defeat. She had plenty of chances to force a third set, but blew three set points and lost the last five points.
“I don’t think one call makes a match,” she said.
Mills said players have the responsibility to challenge the umpire if they feel the score is wrong.
The 47-year-old Navratilova, playing singles at Wimbledon for the first time in 10 years, lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Gisela Dulko — the same player who beat her in the first round of the French Open last month. Navratilova received a long ovation from the Court 3 crowd as she sat on her chair. She stood and waved to acknowledge the applause.
Ivanisevic, recreating some of the magic of his improbable run to the 2001 title, pulled out a five-set victory to set up a third-round showcase against former champion Hewitt.
The Croatian, who missed Wimbledon the last two years with injuries and is retiring after these championships, was his usual animated self as he came up with the big shots at the right time to outlast Italy’s Filippo Volandri, 4-6, 7-6 (8), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
After closing the match with a service winner, Ivanisevic stuck out his tongue and tossed his racket into the crowd. He then stripped off his shirt and tossed it into the stands, basking in a big ovation from the Court 2 fans.
Hewitt, who won the 2002 championship after the Croatian was unable to defend his title because of a shoulder injury, defeated Georgia’s Irakli Labadze 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.
Federer, the top-seeded defending champion, beat Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 in 54 minutes — one of the fastest men’s matches in recent Grand Slam history — to sweep into the third round.
The second-seeded Roddick took advantage of an early start and a break in the weather to finish off a 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 win over Taiwan’s Wang Yeu-tzuoo in a match suspended by rain at 4-2 in the first set Tuesday. All play was washed out Wednesday, and more rain interrupted play briefly Thursday afternoon.