Serena Williams
lost to Katarina Srebotnik, 6-4, 6-4, in the the round at the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris.
The loss of Serena Williams insures that whoever wins this year’s French Open will be a new winner to the tournament. Williams won the French Open in 2002.
“I missed a lot of easy shots and a lot of key points that I felt like could have turned the match around,” Williams said. “I wasn’t able to capitalize.”
Rafael Nadal
, who hasd won the French Open three times before and defending champion, played for the 4th consecutive day in the tournament interrupted by rain and beat Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to get to the fourth round of the French Open.Novak Djokovic
defeated Wayne Odesnik, leaving the only American now left, Robby Ginepri, to put up a good fight for his country.
Top seeded Maria Sharapova and No 2. Ana Ivanovic advanced to the next round of the French Open. Sharapova beat American Bethanie Mattek 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, while Ivanovic defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-1.
Serena Williams
played her match on Court Suzanne Lenglen. “There are a lot of things I would try to do different, but you can’t rewind time,” said Williams, who also lost in the third round at Roland Garros in 1999. Her coach, who is also her mother, Oracene Price, said Williams has “been in a funk. It’s not like her. She wasn’t herself.”Srebotnik
, earned the biggest victory of her career. She has only one win over a player ranked higher than the No. 5-ranked Williams, beating No. 4 Amelie Mauresmo at Zurich in 2005.
Williams did not play like a world class player. An overhead cost her in the sixth game of the second set, thus assisting Srebotnik to reach 3-3.
“I wasn’t nervous,” Williams said. “She was getting a lot of balls back, and I might have let that get into my head. She was just making some shots I don’t think she’s ever made before, or she probably would be in the top two.”
When Williams started falling behind, she tried to make a comeback, making grunting sounds with every shot, and screaming in celebration everytime she won a point. But she was unable to make a full comeback to win the game.
“Today I woke up and it was just another opportunity,” Srebotnik said. “This is what you work so hard for—to be in third round where you play Serena or someone like that and you have really nothing to lose.”
“That was the rhythm that I was trying … to get her on a wrong foot and stuff like that,” Srebotnik said. “When she’s serving well, she’s very tough, but once I got in the rally I had no problem playing her.”
Serena Williams
sat unhappily at the postmatch news conference, explaining her unhappiness by saying, “I just don’t want to be here.”Andy Murray
was eliminated by No. 19 Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5, and No. 15 Mikhail Youzhny to No. 22 Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-5, 6-1.Maria Sharapova’s
least favourite surface is clay, and the French Open is the Grand Slam she has yet to win.”You’re going to have to hit more balls, and you’re going to have to move a few extra steps to the ball,” Sharapova said. “You have to be more patient. I’m definitely getting better at that, and I’m getting smarter out there.”Rafael Nadal
has had some problems with a blister in his right foot, but has requested treatment, and should be fine. “I controlled the match from A to Z,” he said. “I didn’t struggle at all, which is a good sign.”
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