EX- MAJOR WINNERS DEPART FRENCH OPEN
It turned out to be an unsatisfying PARIS day for American players and former women’s Grand Slam tournament champions Sunday in the French Open.
No. 10 seed Venus Williams, competing in an Open era- record 20th French Open, met the criteria in both categories as she will depart Paris with a fourth- round loss.
Williams was the last American standing when she suffered a 5- 7, 6- 2, 6- 1 loss to 30th seed Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland. It marked the second consecutive year in which Williams fell to Bacsinszky in the fourth round here. Bacsinszky turned her back in straight sets last year.
“Probably she wanted the revenge of last year,” Bacsinszky said. “All the time when I step on these courts here, there’s something special happening. I feel really privileged to be able to play on these courts.”
It looked as if Williams might battle it out against the Swiss player when she rebounded from a 5- 1 deficit to win the first set, but she ran out of energy to fight Bacsinsky in the final two sets.
“She had so many answers today,” Williams said. “I just give her credit for playing well every point, even in the first set. Sometimes it’s just bad luck.”
Williams, 36, also was the final former Grand Slam champion remaining in the women’s draw.
At the start of Sunday, there were four Grand Slam tournament champions in the mix: defending champion Garbine Muguruza of Spain, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, Samantha Stosur of Australia and Williams.
Asked to weigh in on the lack of former Grand Slam champions in the draw moving forward, Williams lacked interest in the situation.
“It’s all behind me now, so whatever happens in this tournament is not necessarily my concern anymore,” said Williams, who will be 37 when she steps on the court at Wimbledon. “I’m looking forward tomy own next tournament. It’s all I can focus on right now.”
The fourth seed, Muguruza was attempting to successfully defend a Grand Slam title for the first time in her career. That opportunity came to a crushing halt against 13th seed Kristina Mladenovic, a Frenchwoman who posted the 6- 1, 3- 6, 6- 3 upset.
Mladenovic’s win puts her into her second career Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she will battle Bacsinszky.
The other quarterfinal pairing determined Sunday will match 11th seed Caroline Wozniacki, a former world No. 1, against 47th- ranked Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.
Wozniacki outlasted 2009 French Open champion Kuznetsova 6- 1, 4- 6, 6- 2, while Ostapenko upset 23rd seed Stosur 2- 6, 6- 2, 6- 4.