MELBOURNE, Australia — Defending champion Serena Williams slumped out of the Australian Open today in a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal loss to third-ranked Jelena Jankovic.
Williams, who was unseeded and ranked No. 81 when she won here last year for her eighth Grand Slam title, struggled with her serve and made 36 unforced errors trying to combat Jankovic’s go-for-broke game.
Williams had not dropped a set in her four previous matches, including a 6-3, 6-4 result against 12th-ranked Nicole Vaidisova in a rematch of last year’s semifinal, but dropped serve twice in the opening set.
Jankovic broke Williams and served for the match at 5-3, only to be broken herself. Williams led 40-15 in the next game only to fall apart again, double-faulting to set up match point, then sending a forehand wide.
“It was an unbelievable match. I am still shaking,” said Jankovic, reaching the semifinals for the first time at Melbourne Park. “It’s amazing to beat the defending champion and in general a champion like Serena; it doesn’t happen every day.”
Jankovic lost to Williams in the fourth round here last year between runs to the semifinals at the 2006 U.S. Open and 2007 French Open — her best efforts in Grand Slam tournaments to date.
“Now, getting revenge, it feels so good,” said Jankovic, who is 3-2 against Williams.
Second-ranked Rafael Nadal was impressive in a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 24 Jarkko Nieminen, making the semifinals for the first time in four trips to the Australian Open.
James Blake advanced to a quarterfinal match against Roger Federer, and found himself in a predicament. He was asked if he thought Federer was vulnerable after being taken to 10-8 in the fifth set of a third-round match and a few close calls in his fourth-round win over Tomas Berdych.
“It’s just a reminder that everyone’s human. You can have a bad day,” Blake said, taking the cautious route, after his 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Croatian Marin Cilic.
At a glance
Winners: Men: No. 3 Novak Djokovic. Women: No. 3 Jelena Jankovic.
Losers: Men: No. 19 Lleyton Hewitt. Women: No. 7 Serena Williams.
Quarterfinals today: Men: No. 1 Roger Federer vs. No. 12 James Blake (1:30 a.m. MST on Wednesday), No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 5 David Ferrer, No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Women: Justine Henin vs. Maria Sharapova, No. 4 Ana Ivanovic vs. No. 8 Venus Williams, No. 9 Daniela Hantuchova vs. No. 29 Agnieszka Radwanska.
Stat of the day: 7 — number of Australian Opens it took Blake to get to the quarterfinals.
Quote of the day: “I have come close, then this girl named Williams took my dream away.” — Venus Williams, on her loss in the 2003 final to sister Serena
Today’s television: 1 p.m. (taped), 7 p.m. and 1:30 a.m.; ESPN2
The Associated Press
