Williams ousted in quarterfinals
MELBOURNE, Australia – Defending champion Serena Williams slumped out of the Australian Open in a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal loss to third-ranked Jelena Jankovic on Tuesday.
Williams, who was unseeded and ranked No. 81 when she won here last year for her eighth Grand Slam title, struggled with her serve and made 36 unforced errors trying to combat Jankovic’s go-for-broke game.
Williams had not dropped a set in her four previous matches, including a 6-3, 6-4 result against 12th-ranked Nicole Vaidisova but dropped serve twice in the opening set.
Jankovic broke Williams and served for the match at 5-3, only to be broken herself. Williams led 40-15 in the next game only to fall apart again, double-faulting to set up match point, then sending a forehand wide.
“It was an unbelievable match, I am still shaking,” said Jankovic, reaching the semifinals for the first time at Melbourne Park and only the third time at a major. “I am so happy.
“I came here with no expectations – it’s amazing to beat the defending champion and in general a champion like Serena, it doesn’t happen every day.”
Jankovic had to fend off three match points in the third set of her first-round match, which included 15 service breaks, before edging Tamira Paszek, 2-6, 6-2, 12-10.
She followed that with straight-sets wins over Edina Gallovits and Casey Dellacqua and was taken to three by No. 30 Virginie Razzano.
Jankovic lost to Williams in the fourth round here last year between runs to the semifinals at the 2006 U.S. Open and 2007 French Open – her best efforts in Grand Slam tournaments to date.
“Now, getting revenge it feels so good,” said the 22-year-old Jankovic, who is now 3-2 in her career against Serena Williams. “I’ve beaten the Williams sisters a couple times. But here it is very special.”
James Blake advanced to a quarterfinal match against Roger Federer on Monday, and found himself in a predicament. He was asked if he thought Federer was vulnerable after being taken to 10-8 in the fifth set of a third-round match and a few close calls in his fourth-round win over Tomas Berdych.
“It’s just a reminder that everyone’s human. You can have a bad day,” Blake said after his 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over 19-year-old Croatian Marin Cilic.
Venus Williams had to rally from service breaks in the first set before advancing to the quarters for the first time in five years with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Marta Domachowska, a qualifier from Poland.
She next faces No. 4 Ana Ivanovic, who had a 6-1, 7-6 (2) win over Denmark’s Caroline Woznicki.
No. 9 Daniela Hantuchova is also back in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2003 after beating No. 27 Maria Kirilenko 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 and will next play Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, who upset No. 14 Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-5, 6-0.