PARIS — Serena Williams is usually the one who saves match points, not wastes them.
Who seizes control of an exchange, not cedes it. Who turns up her game at Grand Slam time.
Except at the French Open, the lone major tournament she’s won only once and where she’s now gone seven years without reaching the semifinals.
The No. 1-ranked Williams dropped 17 consecutive points during one stretch, climbed all the way back to within a point of victory, then faded late and lost to No. 7 Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-2, 6-7 (2), 8-6 on Wednesday in the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
“Had I played better for two minutes, maybe the result could have been different. But it didn’t work out,” Williams said. “Just wasn’t playing well today. Last year, I choked. I guess it’s a redundant story with me.”
The upset was Stosur’s second in a row — she eliminated four-time champion Justine Henin in the fourth round — and came a day after men’s No. 1 and defending champion Roger Federer was stunned by Robin Soderling.
“It’s not over yet,” said Stosur, a tour-best 19-2 on clay this season and a 2009 French Open semifinalist. “I want to definitely try and keep going.”
In keeping with the run of surprises at this wide-open French Open, No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria came back to beat No. 3 Novak Djokovic 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the last men’s quarterfinal. Melzer, at 29 the oldest man left, never had won a match after losing the first two sets — and never made it beyond the third round at any Grand Slam tournament in 31 previous tries.
His reward? A semifinal Friday against four-time champion Rafael Nadal, who eliminated No. 19 Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-4.
In one women’s semifinal today, Stosur will play No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, who got past unseeded Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-4. No. 5 Elena Dementieva will face No. 17 Francesca Schiavone in the other.
About an hour after losing to Stosur, Williams went back on court to team with her older sister Venus and reached the women’s doubles final by beating Liezel Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
At a glance
A look at the French Open on Wednesday:
Stat of the day: 46 unforced errors made by Serena Williams, 22 more than Samantha Stosur
Quote of the day: “It was my match, and I lost it.” — Williams, after coming within a point of reaching the French semifinals for the first time since 2003
On court today: WOMEN — No. 4 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia vs. No. 7 Stosur of Australia, No. 5 Elena Dementieva of Russia vs. No. 17 Francesca Schiavone of Italy.
Today’s TV: Tennis Channel — 3-10 a.m.; ESPN2 — 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Associated Press
