Five-time champion Venus Williams suffered a shock 6-2, 6-3 defeat against unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon yesterday.
Not since Jelena Jankovic defeated Williams in the third round in 2006 had Venus failed to reach the women’s singles final at the All England Club, but the US second seed was completely out-played by Pironkova, the world No. 82.
Venus had competed in eight of the last 10 Wimbledon finals and had been odds-on to make yet another appearance in the showpiece after moving through the first four rounds without dropping a set.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Yet there had been signs against Jarmila Groth in the fourth round that Venus was not at the top of her game as the Australian pushed her to a tie-break.
Pironkova is the lowest ranked woman left in the draw and has never won a title on the main WTA tour.
Despite her lowly ranking, the Bulgarian had no reason to believe she couldn’t shock the world No. 2 because she beat her in the first round of the Australian Open four years ago.
That victory in Melbourne in their last meeting was by far the best result of Pironkova’s career.
The 22-year-old from Plovdiv had never even been past the second round of a grand slam in 18 previous attempts until her run here this year.
Venus, who last won Wimbledon in 2008, has always relied on bullying opponents into submission with her huge serve and booming backhands, but Pironkova’s quick court coverage and clever use of the angles kept the American from finding her rhythm.
The tactic of moving Williams around the court paid off in the sixth game of the first set as Pironkova broke for a 4-2 lead.
With her ground-strokes way off target, Venus was unable to halt Pironkova’s momentum and the Bulgarian took the set when she converted her fourth break point in the eighth game with a perfect passing shot.
Venus had to fight off another break point in the second game of the second set and, even when she seemed to regain a measure of control by breaking for a 2-1 lead, Pironkova just kept coming at her.
When a sublime lob from Pironkova brought up a break point in the next game, Williams’ frustration was clear to see.
She looked rattled and there was an air of desperation about her when she drove a wild forehand into the net to allow Pironkova to break back.
Pironkova was playing the tennis of her life and all Venus could do was crudely blast a backhand long to give the Bulgarian the decisive break for a 4-2 lead.
Pironkova didn’t falter when she had a chance to serve for the match and, after Williams missed a volley, the Bulgarian fell to the turf in sheer delight.
US Open champion Kim Clijsters also lost yesterday, beaten by Russian Vera Zvonareva.
The 21st-seeded Zvonareva came back from a set down to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 on her second match point when Clijsters netted a forehand.
Clijsters won the first set after breaking the Russian in the eighth game but the eighth-seeded Belgian was no match for Zvonareva in the final two sets, which saw her broken four times.
HEROICS
After his heroics on Monday Lu Yen-hsun was playing in the third round of the men’s doubles yesterday with Serbian partner Janko Tipsarevic. The duo were facing Jurgen Melzer of Austria and Philipp Petzschner of Germany.
In the third round of the women’s doubles on Monday, fifth-seeded US pair Liezel Huber and Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated No. 16 seeds Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
■CAPRIATI RECOVERING
AP, ORLANDO, FLORIDA
Former tennis star Jennifer Capriati was recovering on Monday from an accidental overdose of prescribed medication, a family spokeswoman said.
The 34-year-old Capriati, once ranked No. 1 in a career sidetracked by personal troubles, was in a stable condition and expected to make a full recovery, spokeswoman Lacey Wickline said. She declined to identify the medication.
Capriati was rushed to a South Florida hospital early on Sunday morning, she said. Wickline would not say how Capriati was found or who called emergency services.
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