Numbers told a surprising story for Serena Williams in her fourth-round loss at the Australian Open yesterday.
Seven double-faults, including four in one game, 37 unforced errors and a first-serve percentage of just over 50 percent that had her convinced “maybe I should have started serving lefty.”
Some other numbers indicated why her 6-2, 6-3 loss to Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova on what she admitted was a still-sore left ankle was more of a shock, particularly at this stage of the year’s first major.
Photo: AFP
She has played 43 singles matches at Melbourne Park since she won the first of her five Australian Open titles in 2003, and yesterday’s loss was just her third. She’s 54-7 since playing in Melbourne for the first time in 1998 and she has not gone out this early since 2006.
“I’m not physically 100 percent, so I can’t be so angry at myself, even though I’m very unhappy,” Williams said. “I know that I can play a hundred times better than I did this whole tournament.”
Without Williams, who injured her left ankle in Brisbane two weeks ago, the only major winners still in contention were Maria Sharapova, defending champion Kim Clijsters and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
Sharapova earned the right to play Makarova in the quarter-final when she beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a night match. The 2008 champion blew a 3-0 lead in the opening set, needed three set points to win the second and advanced on her second match point, despite making 47 unforced errors and eight double-faults.
“A lot of ups and downs today — fortunately I finished on a high note,” she said. “Even though I didn’t play my best tennis, I fought to the end and sometimes that’s what gets you through.”
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki, still in search of her first Grand Slam title, plays Clijsters in a quarter-final today. The Belgian veteran advanced to the quarter-finals with a comeback win over Li Na on Sunday in a rematch of last year’s final, while Kvitova had some trouble late in the match before beating former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) yesterday.
Kvitova is next scheduled to play Sara Errani of Italy, who beat 2008 semi-finalist Zheng Jie 6-2, 6-1.
Defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic’s attempt to advance to the quarter-finals and keep alive his chance of winning his third straight Grand Slam was going well at press time as he was beating Lleyton Hewitt of Australia 6-1, 6-3, 3-1 in the late match on Rod Laver Arena.
The Djokovic-Hewitt winner is scheduled to play fifth seed David Ferrer, who had a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Richard Gasquet.
Earlier, two-time runner-up Andy Murray was leading 6-1, 6-1, 1-0 when Mikhail Kukushkin retired from their fourth-round match with a left hip injury, giving Murray an easy path into the quarters.
“It’s obviously good for me, I get to conserve some energy,” Murray said. “Tough for him, first time in the fourth round of a Slam.”
Murray is next scheduled to face Kei Nishikori, who had a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win over sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2008 finalist.
The 22-year-old Nishikori became the first Japanese man in the last eight at the Australian Open in 80 years and only the second man from his country to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final since the Open era started in 1968. Shuzo Matsuoka reached the 1995 Wimbledon quarter-finals.
“Is feeling unbelievable. My first quarter-final and beating Tsonga, makes me really happy,” Nishikori said. “I hope it’s big in Japan. A lot of people messaged me a couple of days ago about the round-of-16 and now the quarter-finals. It’s really exciting.”
Makarova, a 23-year-old Russian left-hander, was equally thrilled about her win over Williams and considering she had lost in the first round of the last six tournaments she had played, she was in awe over who she beat.
“Yeah, I’m surprised because she’s a great player and it’s really tough to play against her, but I don’t know, I just feeling so good and so focus. So I played my game and that’s it. I won against Serena. That’s amazing,” she said.
Makarova overcame plenty of Williams crowd support, many who were not that familiar with the Russian.
Oracene Price, Williams’ mother, was in the players’ box with her sunglasses on and a wide-brimmed hat. In the fourth game of the second set with Makarova serving, Williams netted an easy forehand return. She made an angry sound and there was a bit of laughter in the crowd. Price just turned away, shaking her head.
After Williams’ fourth double-fault in the fifth game of the second set, which gave Makarova the game and a 3-2 lead, Williams shouted: “Oh my God.”
She looked ready to smash her racket, but in the end bounced it on the court and caught it on the rebound.
The 13-time Grand Slam winner had only played two competitive matches since losing the US Open final to Sam Stosur in September and her light preparation was curtailed when she badly twisted her ankle as she won her second-round match in Brisbane earlier this month.
For that reason, Williams was not about to beat herself up over yesterday’s loss.
“Am I usually angry? I don’t know. Crying? I don’t cry. So I don’t know what I usually project,” she said. “I feel like I didn’t play well today. I don’t feel like I can’t get better.”
In the first round of the junior boys’ doubles, Australia’s Andrew Harris and Nick Kyrgios defeated Taiwan’s Ho Chih-jen and Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul of Thailand 6-3, 6-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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