PARIS — Serena Williams, of all people, got a case of the jitters. That was her explanation, anyway.
The 10-time Grand Slam champion kept finding herself in, then out of, trouble in the French Open quarterfinals Wednesday, until running out of stamina and strokes down the stretch of a 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-5 loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova that ended Williams’ 18-match winning streak at majors.
“I had an opportunity, and I got really tight, and I pretty much gave it to her,” said the second-seeded Williams, who blew a 3-1 lead in the third set. “It was like, ‘Here. Do you want to go to the semis? Because I don’t.’ She was like, ‘OK.’ ”
The seventh-seeded Kuznetsova’s semifinal opponent today is No. 30 Samantha Stosur of Australia, who defeated Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-1, 6-3. The other women’s semifinal is No. 1 Dinara Safina of Russia against No. 20 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.
Kuznetsova took eight of the last nine points, breaking Williams in the final game.
“Honestly, I think I lost because of me,” Williams said, “and not because of anything she did.”
Williams denied she felt fatigued, blaming nerves instead.
“Maybe I put some expectations on myself that I didn’t put on myself initially,” she said.
Roger Federer spoke about dealing with nerves, too, although his problems came before he began playing 11th-seeded Gael Monfils of France.
“We’re all nervous at this stage of the competition. I felt it. Yesterday I felt it, and I felt it again today in the warm-up,” said Federer, who knows this might be his best chance to win the only Grand Slam missing from his resume. “I was tired, I was nervous, and I didn’t feel really good. Then once out on court, I get my act together.”
There’s an understatement.
Federer beat Monfils 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4 to close in on completing a career Grand Slam and earning a 14th major title to tie Pete Sampras’ career record.
Next up for Federer is No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who eliminated No. 16 Tommy Robredo of Spain in straight sets. Friday’s other men’s semifinal will be No. 23 Robin Soderling — the Swede who upset four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round — against No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.
Federer is 26-1 against the other semifinalists, including 5-0 against del Potro.
“Doesn’t mean because I have a great record against all the players left in the draw that, you know, I’m going to win this,” Federer said, “but I’ll definitely try everything I possibly can to do it.”
He is into his 20th consecutive major semifinal, extending his own record; del Potro is in the first of his career.
At a glance
A look at the French Open on Wednesday:
Stat of the day: 20 — Consecutive Grand Slam semifinals reached by No. 2 Roger Federer, a record.
Quote of the day: “It’s my lucky court. Maybe I should ask them to move tomorrow to this court.” — No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova, after beating No. 2 Serena Williams on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Today’s semis are set for Court Philippe Chatrier.
Today’s semifinals: No. 1 Dinara Safina vs. No. 20 Dominika Cibulkova, Kuznetsova vs. No. 30 Samantha Stosur.
Today’s TV: Tennis Channel, 3-6 a.m.; ESPN2, 6-11 a.m.
The Associated Press
