Venus Williams joined sister Serena on the sidelines of the Madrid Open on Tuesday after the third-ranked American player was beaten 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 by Alisa Kleybanova.
Serena, who retired from her match on Monday with a right knee injury, watched on from the stands as Kleybanova picked her shots well and ran Williams ragged throughout the 2 hours, 12 minute contest.
After splitting the first two sets, Kleybanova broke early for a 2-0 lead as Williams’ backhand misfired.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Williams broke the 26th-ranked Russian as she served for the match to level the set at 5-5.
But Williams continued to be troubled by erratic play as she lost her serve, eventually hitting long on match point to hand Kleybanova a pass into the third round.
Roger Federer began his final warmup for Roland Garros with a convincing 6-1, 7-5 win over Robin Soderling, while new No. 3 Andy Murray scored a tough 7-6 (9), 6-4 win against Simone Bolelli.
The Swiss star hit 24 winners and took advantage of the Swede’s 25 unforced errors to win four break points. Federer hit 11 aces, including on the final point to clinch his place in the third round.
Murray will next play No. 16 Tommy Robredo after the Spaniard rallied to defeat Mardy Fish of the US 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Earlier, Croatian wildcard Ivan Ljubicic scored the first upset after beating ninth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 7-5.
Madrid’s conversion from a fast-playing hardcourt to a clay surface looked to benefit 14th-seeded James Blake, who beat Romania’s Victor Hanescu 6-2, 6-4.
Other seeded players to advance included No. 7 Fernando Verdasco, No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 13 Marin Cilic.
On the women’s side, fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic overcame a stubborn challenge from Daniela Hantuchova to win 7-5, 6-2.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
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