NEW YORK — Serena Williams’ U.S. Open title defense ended in bizarre, ugly fashion Saturday night, when she was penalized a point on match point after yelling and shaking her racket in the direction of an official who called a foot fault.
Williams lost to unseeded, unranked Kim Clijsters 6-4, 7-5 in a taut semifinal that featured plenty of powerful groundstrokes by both women. No one will remember a single shot that was struck, though, because of the unusual, dramatic way it finished.
With Williams serving at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set, she faulted on her first serve. On the second serve, a line judge called a foot fault, making it a double-fault — a call rarely, if ever, seen at that stage of any match, let alone the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.
That made the score 15-40, putting Clijsters one point from victory.
Instead of stepping to the baseline to serve again, Williams went over and shouted at the line judge, pointing at her and shaking a ball at her.
The line judge went over to the chair umpire, and tournament referee Brian Earley joined in the conversation.
Williams already had been give a code violation warning when she broke her racket after losing the first set. So the chair umpire now awarded a penalty point to Clijsters, ending the match.
“She was called for a foot fault, and a point later, she said something to a line umpire, and it was reported to the chair, and that resulted in a point penalty,” Earley explained.
“And it just happened that point penalty was match point. It was a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.”
When the ruling was announced, Williams walked around the net to the other end of the court to shake hands with a stunned Clijsters, who did not appear to understand what had happened.
“I used to have a real temper, and I’ve gotten a lot better,” Williams said in her postmatch news conference. “So I know you don’t believe me, but I used to be worse. Yes, yes, indeed.”
Lost in the theatrics was Clijsters’ significant accomplishment: In only her third tournament back after 2 1/2 years in retirement, the 26-year-old Belgian became the first mother to reach a Grand Slam final since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon 1980.
Clijsters hadn’t competed at the U.S. Open since winning the 2005 championship. Now she will play for her second career major title today against No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who beat Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 in the other rain-delayed women’s semifinal.
On the men’s side, after a day of waiting around, Rafael Nadal finally got back on the court. About half an hour later, he was still looking for some action.
The third-seeded Nadal took advantage of an embarrassing collapse by No. 11 Fernando Gonzalez at the U.S. Open to put away his quarterfinal, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-0.
“I can’t tell you, because I don’t have the answer,” Gonzalez said when asked to explain his quick disintegration.
Next up for Nadal is a semifinal today against No. 6 Juan Martin del Potro. The other men’s semifinal pits No. 4 Novak Djokovic against No. 1 Roger Federer, who is seeking his sixth straight U.S. Open title.
At a glance
A brief look at Saturday’s play:
Weather: Early clouds followed by persistent light rain. Cool with a high of 68.
Men’s result: Quarterfinals: No. 3 Rafael Nadal defeated No. 11 Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-0 to complete the match they began on Thursday.
Women’s results: Semifinals: Kim Clijsters defeated Serena Williams 6-4, 7-5. No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki defeated Yanina Wickmayer 6-3, 6-3.
Top players on court today: Men’s semifinals: No. 1 Roger Federer vs. No. 4 Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 6 Juan Martin del Potro. Women’s championship: No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki vs. Kim Clijsters.
Quote of the day: “I don’t think that’s necessary for me to speak about that. I’ve let it go.” — Serena Williams, when asked what she said to the line judge that resulted in a point penalty on match point in her loss to Kim Clijsters
TV:(MDT): ESPN2, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (men’s semifinal); 7-9 p.m. (women’s final); CBS, 2-5 p.m. (men’s semifinal)
