The aura of invincibility that has surrounded Serena Williams for the past year is starting to break down.
With little more than a week before Williams defends her title in the French Open, the top-ranked American lost Saturday for the second time in two tournaments.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 defeat to Amelie Mauresmo in the semifinals of the Italian Open was highlighted by Williams' failure to serve out the match while leading 5-4 in the second set.
Such glaring missed opportunities were a rarity for Williams when she claimed her so-called "Serena Slam" by winning four consecutive majors starting at Roland Garros last year and concluding at the Australian Open in January.
Saturday's loss was only William's second this year, but both have come recently and both have come on clay, the same surface used in Paris.
Williams, who was also the defending champion in Rome, missed a tricky backhand volley while up 5-4 in the second set that gave Mauresmo a break to get back on serve. Mauresmo promptly won three straight games and stretched the match into a third set.
After trading breaks early in the final set, Mauresmo broke again to go ahead 5-3 when Williams' shot was called long on an overrule by the chair umpire.
Helped by four errors from Williams, Mauresmo then served out the match.
"Everything went wrong for me," Williams said. "I was making too many errors and struggling with my serve. I guess that sums it up. You can't win a match with a second serve.
"There was nothing in particular she did. When I lose a match it's usually because of how I played. In the end it's better to lose in Rome than in Paris."
Williams had cruised through the first set in just 21 minutes as Mauresmo -- the No. 4 seed from France -- won just four points in the first five games.
Mauresmo is attempting to win her second title of the year after defeating Williams' sister Venus in the Warsaw final two weeks ago. She beat Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals on Friday.
In the final of this US$1.3 million event, Mauresmo will meet second-seeded Clijsters, who did not have much trouble in defeating the 13th-seeded Sugiyama.
Perhaps slightly unnerved by waiting longer than expected for the Williams-Mauresmo match to end, Clijsters lost her serve in the opening game.
After a quick recovery, however, Clijsters was the same dominating player she has been in each of her matches here thus far. She improved to 4-2 in head-to-head matchups against Sugiyama, who is Clijsters' doubles partner.
The Foro Italico crowd did their best to encourage Sugiyama, who was the first Japanese semifinalist in the tournament's history. One fan held aloft a sign written in Japanese that read: "Let's Go Ai."
Kim Clijsters, defeated Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-2 in Saturday's other semifinal. In Sunday's final, Clijsters will be aiming for her third title of the year. Clijsters and Mauresmo have split their previous meetings with two wins each.
In the doubles final, 46-year-old Martina Navratilova and 17-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova will meet Jelena Dokic and Nadia Petrova.
Hamburg Masters
Agustin Calleri and Guillermo Coria will meet in the final of the Hamburg Masters.
On a historic tennis day for Argentina, Calleri beat David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-1 on Saturday and the 12th-seeded Coria overcame Gaston Gaudio 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-0.
Never before had four players from Argentina reached the semifinals at one ATP tournament. It was also the first time four countrymen contested the semifinals of a Masters Series, the nine tournaments that rank just below the Grand Slams.
"It's something very big for our country," Calleri said. The last Argentine to win in Hamburg was Guillermo Vilas in 1978.
Nalbandian, last year's Wimbledon finalist, was the highest-seeded player still in the event at No. 8. Although technically an upset, his defeat against Calleri wasn't a complete surprise.
Nalbandian concedes that clay is not his best surface and that he is more comfortable on hard courts. Calleri, on the other hand, has compiled the best record on clay this season along with Gaudio, 24-7, and won his first ATP title in Acapulco.
He is in his third final on clay this year.
Coria, whose record on clay is 17-4, rallied and rolled through the final set.
"I had to play short points in the third set and to be aggressive," Coria said. "Without the trainer, I couldn't have finished the match."
Gaudio appeared to grab Coria rather strongly by the shoulder after the match, but both players denied any incident.
"Maybe he was upset that I finished the match," Coria said.
Nalbandian had won four of five previous matches against Calleri.
"You never know what he's going to do," a visibly disappointed Nalbandian said after the match.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely