French Open : Williams bows out
PARIS – Befuddled all match, Serena Williams reacted to one flubbed backhand by spiking her racket to the court, drawing full-throated boos from spectators.
It was as spirited as Williams – or the crowd – got during her lopsided French Open quarterfinal loss to No. 1 Justine Henin, the one moment Tuesday when the last U.S. singles player in the tournament truly appeared to want to turn things around.
Too many mistakes and too little fight followed from Williams, though, and Henin beat her 6-4, 6-3 to close in on a third straight title at Roland Garros. This meeting bore no resemblance to their infamous 2003 French Open semifinal, a three-set tussle that featured far more drama, acrimony and, well, competitive tennis.
“All she had to do was show up,” said Williams, who won the Australian Open in January for her eighth major championship. “I thought that she did well, but I’ve played against her when she’s played even better.”
With the win, Henin extended her record streak to 31 consecutive sets won at the French Open.
It didn’t help that Henin determined the tempo of rallies, switching speeds and angles at will, something Williams referred to as “her little tactics.”
Henin used those tactics to wrap things up in a hurry, taking eight of the final nine points.
“She didn’t look very aggressive,” Henin said. “So I just understood, if I was mentally and emotionally under control today, I was going to win this match.”
Meanwhile, a set was lost by – gasp! – Roger Federer against No. 9 Tommy Robredo of Spain. But Federer quickly righted himself to win 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 and reach the semifinals at a record 12th major tournament in a row. The first set was the 36th in a row won by Federer in Grand Slam action, eclipsing the Open era mark John McEnroe set in 1984.
“If I can break some records, that’s fantastic,” said Federer, trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win four straight Slam titles. “But I would say that I want to stay focused on each match, each set, each point, each game.”
His opponent Friday will be No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who reached the semifinals by beating No. 19 Guillermo Canas of Argentina 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 despite making 64 unforced errors to Canas’ 15.
In the women’s semifinals Thursday, Henin will face No. 4 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, who defeated No. 6 Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5.
The other women’s semifinal pits No. 2 Maria Sharapova against No. 7 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.
Sharapova beat No. 9 Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 6-3, 6-4, while Ivanovic got past No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, last year’s runner-up, 6-0, 3-6, 6-1.