Williams ousted at French Open

PARIS – Serena Williams is usually the one who saves match points, not wastes them.

Who turns up her game at Grand Slam time.

Except at the French Open, the lone major tournament she’s won only once and where she’s gone seven years without reaching the semifinals.

The No. 1-ranked Williams dropped 17 consecutive points during one stretch, climbed all the way back to within a point of victory, then faded late and lost to No. 7 Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-2, 6-7 (2), 8-6 on Wednesday in the Roland Garros quarterfinals.

“Had I played better for two minutes, maybe the result could have been different. But it didn’t work out,” said Williams, who missed a forehand by an inch or so when she held a match point at 5-4 in the final set. “Last year, I choked. I guess it’s a redundant story with me.”

The upset was Stosur’s second in a row – she eliminated four-time champion Justine Henin in the fourth round – and came a day after men’s No. 1 and defending champion Roger Federer lost to Robin Soderling.

In keeping with the run of surprises at this wide-open French Open, No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria came back to beat No. 3 Novak Djokovic 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the last men’s quarterfinal. Melzer, at 29 the oldest man left, never before won a match after losing the first two sets – and never made it beyond the third round at any Grand Slam tournament in 31 previous tries.

His reward? A semifinal Friday against four-time champion Rafael Nadal, who eliminated No. 19 Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-4.

In one women’s semifinal, Stosur will play No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, who got past unseeded Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-4. No. 5 Elena Dementieva will face No. 17 Francesca Schiavone in the other.