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Zvonareva rises up against Venus

Nadia Petrova reacts after defeating Jennifer Capriati in a fourth round of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris on Sunday. PHOTO: AP

Venus Williams lost again in a Grand Slam tournament, only this time it wasn't against her sister.

The third-seeded Williams squandered an early lead and was beaten by 18-year-old Russian Vera Zvonareva 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the fourth round at the French Open.

Williams had been beaten by sister Serena in the past four major events, including last year at Roland Garros.

It was a tough day for top Americans, with Jennifer Capriati and a hobbled Lindsay Davenport both losing as well.

No. 7-seeded Capriati, the 2001 champion, also was upset by a Russian. Nadia Petrova, ranked 76th, won 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, then celebrated by pounding her chest, punching the air and blowing a kiss to the crowd.

Zvonareva was not quite so expressive. When Williams yanked a backhand wide on match point, the Russian teenager simply walked to the net, where she was greeted with a handshake and smile from her opponent.

"Maybe I'm just too tired to be excited," Zvonareva said.

The Moscow native has climbed from 371st in the rankings at the beginning of last year to 21st entering the French Open.

"She did real well," Williams said. "She definitely stepped in there, and I had definitely a lot of opportunities. I felt like sometimes I went for too much or went for too little."

Serena emerged unscathed from a first-set scare and a nasty spill to beat Ai Sugiyama 7-5, 6-3.

No. 6-seeded Davenport was forced to quit, aggravating a strained toe on her left foot that has bothered her for about a month. She was trailing No. 24 Conchita Martinez 6-4, 2-0.

Andre Agassi advanced by beating Flavio Saretta 6-2, 6-1, 7-5.

Mauresmo, seeded fifth, advanced by beating Magui Serna 6-1, 6-2 but knows she'll have her hands full against Williams.

No. 4 Carlos Moya, the 1998 champion, beat No. 13 Jiri Novak 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

He'll next face Dutchman Martin Verkerk, who upset No. 11 Rainer Schuettler 6-3, 6-3, 7-5. Verkerk had never won a Grand Slam match coming into the tournament. No. 7 Guillermo Coria was leading fellow Argentinian Mariano Zabaleta 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7 when their fourth-round match was suspended until Monday because of darkness.
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