Serena Williams loses in Roland Garros quarterfinals to Svetlana Kuznetsova

13
Adidas Originals

Serena WilliamsSecond seed Serena Williams ended her 18-match Grand Slam winning streak by falling to seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open.

Russia’s Kuznetsova faced a set point serving at 5-6 in the first set, but she fought it off and eventually won the set. Despite being three points from defeat in the second set, Williams evened the match, and then took a 3-1 lead in the decider. Kuznetsova mounted the final comeback and broke serve in the last game to finally beat Williams 7-6(3) 5-7 7-5.

Williams was looking for her third successive Grand Slam title and the 11th of her career.

The 2004 US Open champion Kuznetsova, who has been my second favorite for the title, just after top seed Dinara Safina, will play Samantha Stosur in the semifinals. The 25-year-old Stosur has never won a Tour title, and will be playing in her first major semifinal. In the quarterfinals the Australian beat young Romanian phenomenon Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-3.

The other semifinal will include Russian Dinara Safina and Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova. (source: AP, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Previous articleWho was Suzanne Lenglen?
Next articleDinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova to battle for French Open crown
Marija Zivlak
Marija Zivlak is the founder and editor-in-chief of Women’s Tennis Blog, a trusted source for in-depth coverage of the WTA Tour, tennis fashion, and player insights. Based in Belgrade, Serbia, she has been reporting on women’s tennis for over 18 years and has contributed exclusive fashion articles to the official WTA website. Marija launched Women’s Tennis Blog on March 31, 2007 to provide fans with accurate, engaging, and up-to-date tennis news. Her expertise and deep connections within the sport allow her to offer unique perspectives on tennis trends, gear, and events.

13 COMMENTS

  1. Sorry to all Dinara Lovers, but I DON’T WANT HER TO WIN!!! Nothing against her, but it seems awfully like Ana Ivanovic…

  2. Yeah I think Safina will take it as well.

    Admittedly I’m not her biggest fan, but she is definitely a winner, and worthy of the number one spot…

  3. Bróna, unlike you, I’m not surprised Serena lost, I had expected Kuznetsova to do better than Serena.

  4. Well Marija, I was surprised considering that Serena’s record against Kuznetsova is so good and considering that Serena usually plays so well on the big occasions. However it wasn’t a huge shock to me because Kuznetsova had been playing better than Serena in the lead-up to the match. Anyway, Safina and Kuznetsova in the final should be very interesting, but I think it will go Dinara’s way.

  5. “Kuznetsova had been playing better than Serena in the lead-up to the match” – that’s what I was having in mind. And I could add, in the lead-up to the tournament.

  6. When I said that “Kuznetsova had been playing better than Serena in the lead-up to the match” I meant to say that she had been playing better than Serena in the lead-up to the tournament, so I agree with you there Marija.

  7. Ivanovic did the same thing…. She lost in the FO final in 07, lost in AO final in 08 won FO then lost everything

    I hope this doesn’t happen to Dinara… :'(

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here