Serena follows Venus out of French Open after shock loss

Thursday, 29 May 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Holder and world No.1 Serena Williams suffered a crushing 6-2 6-2 defeat by Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in the French Open second round on Wednesday to follow her elder sister Venus out of the second grand slam of the year. Serena never looked the force that has won 17 major titles on a chilly day in Paris. Her 20-year-old opponent broke the American’s serve twice early in the first set and made the most of a series of unforced errors by Williams. The Spaniard, ranked 35 in the world, kept up the pressure and the match turned out to be a repeat of the nightmare of 2012, when Williams lost in the first round, not of the glory of 2013 when she beat Maria Sharapova in the final here. A netted return from Williams sent the Spaniard into ecstasy and even Williams’s mother, Oracene, smiled as Muguruza leapt about the court. “Of course, it’s amazing,” Muguruza said. “I had to be really aggressive and focused. “Today is a great day. I’m so happy,” she shouted. Serena was philosophical saying: “I don’t think anything worked for me today. It was just one of those days, you can’t be on (your game) every day. It’s not the end of the world, there’s always next year.” Novak Djokovic, the men’s second seed from Serbia, had few problems in despatching Jeremy Chardy of France 6-1 6-4 6-2. The Williams sisters had been due to meet in the third round but Venus became the first seed to lose in the second round, falling 2-6 6-3 6-4 to Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia. The 29th seed, wearing long sleeves to stay warm in temperatures of 14 Celsius, has never won the claycourt grand slam in 16 visits and the former world No. 1, now 32, may have to accept she never will. Schmiedlova, aged 19 and ranked 56 in the world, wasted two match points on Williams’ serve before the American hit wide to set up a third, and the Slovak won the match with a fine backhand cross court shot. “This is the biggest win of my life,” said Schmiedlova, who broke down when expressing how much Venus had meant to her when she was growing up. Solid start Venus had got off a solid start, winning four games in a row against Schmiedlova to take the opening set. Her opponent, however, stepped up a gear and, after an early exchange of breaks, stole the nine-times grand slam champion’s serve in the seventh game of the second set and levelled the contest when her opponent netted a forehand. Schmiedlova pulled through thanks to a series of fine passing shots. Venus Williams was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease in September 2011 and since losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon that year, has lost in the first or second round of every grand slam she has taken part in. “I think she just played so well and just kept getting so many balls in the court,” said Venus. “It just wasn’t my day in the last couple of sets.” Flavia Pennetta of Italy, seeded 12th, joined the Williams sisters in heading for the exit after going down 5-7 6-4 6-2 to Sweden’s Johanna Larsson Eugenie Bouchard, the 18th seed, recovered from a slow start to beat Julia Goerges of Germany in three sets. On the men’s side, Russian Mikhail Youzhny, the 15th seed, lost 6-0 6-3 3-6 6-4 to Czech Radek Stepanek before Spain’s Marcel Granollers overturned a two-set deficit to beat 20th seed Alexandr Dologopolov of Ukraine 1-6 3-6 6-3 6-0 6-2. Gilles Simon, the 29th seed, eased past Alejandro Gonzales of Colombia 6-4 6-0 6-2 and there were also straight-set wins for Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, the 27th seed, and Ernests Gulbis, the 18th seed from Latvia.

Schmiedlova beats Venus to spoil Williams family party

REUTERS: Slovakian teenager Anna Schmiedlova deprived Venus Williams of a likely third-round meeting with her sister Serena at the French Open when she beat the American 2-6 6-3 6-4 in the second round on Wednesday. Under grey skies on court Philippe Chatrier, 29th seed Williams got off to a solid start, winning four games in a row to take the opening set. World number 56 Schmiedlova, however, stepped up a gear and, after an early exchange of breaks, stole the nine-times grand slam champion’s serve in the seventh game of the second set and levelled the contest when her opponent netted a forehand. Schmiedlova, 19, pulled through thanks to a series of jaw-dropping passing shots to set up a possible meeting with defending champion Serena Williams who was playing Spain’s Garbine Muguruza later on Wednesday. “It’s the biggest win of my life,” an emotional Schmiedllova told a courtside interviewer. “It was incredible. Now I want to beat the other one.” Since losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2011, Venus Williams has lost in the first or second round of every grand slam she has taken part in, except for the 2013 Australian Open, where she reached the third round. Schmiedlova, on the other hand, is on the way up, having started to climb the rankings ladder since losing the Roland Garros juniors’ final in 2012.