PARIS, June 2: Serena Williams came up well short this fortnight in her bid to tie the record for most Grand Slam women�s singles titles, falling to countrywoman Sofia Kenin 6-2, 7-5 in third-round action at the French Open.
On Saturday, Williams was out of sorts on Court Philippe-Chatrier, showing glimpses of her overpowering arsenal of weapons but also lots of signs of rust stemming from her recent lack of tournament play, reports Efe news.
Even so, it took a strong performance from the 20-year-old Kenin to take advantage of her opportunity against the American great, who is a dangerous opponent no matter the circumstances.
Kenin earned the first service break of the match midway through the first set and then staved off a break point in the following game to grab a 4-2 lead.
The Russian-born world No. 35 finished off the set two games later by winning her fourth straight deuce-ad game, a stretch in which Williams looked visibly frustrated at some balls that clipped the lines.
Kenin also grabbed a 2-0 lead at the start of the second set before Williams started clawing her way into the match.
The 37-year-old American, who has been battling a knee injury and is currently ranked No. 10, won four of the next five games to grab a 4-3 lead and heap pressure on her relatively inexperienced opponent.
But Kenin showed plenty of competitive mettle as well, refusing to back down and keeping her nerve in a testy final game to clinch the victory in one hour and 32 minutes.
Next up for Kenin in the round of 16 will be Australian world No. 8 Ashleigh Barty, who continued to breeze through the draw with a 6-3, 6-1 victory on Saturday over Germany�s Andrea Petkovic.
Japanese world No. 1 Naomi Osaka, winner of the past two Grand Slam tennis events, also fell victim to an upset, losing to Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-2.
Next up for Siniakova will be American Madison Keys, a 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 winner over Russia�s Anna Blinkova, with the winner of that contest to take on either Kenin or Barty in the quarterfinals. � IANS
