Kenin sends Serena packing, joining No. 1 Osaka with early exits on clay
PARIS — Serena Williams’ quest for a 24th Grand Slam title ended with her earliest loss at a major tournament in five years.
Williams was outplayed in the third round of the French Open by 20-yearold American Sofia Kenin, who used clean, deep groundstrokes to put together a 6-2, 7-5 upset Saturday.
“In that first set, in particular, she hit pretty much inches from the line, and I haven’t played anyone like that in a long time,” Williams said. “I just saw a player that was playing unbelievable.”
It was the second significant surprise in a matter of hours: Earlier in the day, No. 1 seed Naomi Osaka was eliminated 6-4, 6-2 by 42nd-ranked Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic. That ended Osaka’s 16-match Grand Slam winning streak, which included titles at the U.S. Open final in September — when she beat Williams in the final — and at the Australian Open in January.
Osaka was trying to become the first woman to win three consecutive major trophies since Williams grabbed four in a row in 2014-15, a run that was preceded by a second-round loss at Roland Garros and a third-round loss at Wimbledon.
Since those early-for-her defeats, Williams had won six of the 14 majors she entered to surpass Steffi Graf’s professional-era record of 22 Grand Slam singles championships. With 23, Williams stands one away from Margaret Court’s mark for the most in tennis history; Court played in both the pro and amateur eras.
Williams, who is 37, sat out four Slams in 2017-18 while she was off the tour to have a baby. Her first major tournament back was last year’s French Open. She went on to reach the finals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, before a quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open.
Williams had said she considered not entering the French Open.
“I’m glad I came, at the end of the day,” she said, “but it’s been a really grueling season for me.”
Williams’ strokes were often off target: Her 34 unforced errors were twice as many as Kenin’s total.
Remarkably, Kenin broke Williams four times, while only ceding one of her own service games.
“Just playing against Serena, you’ve really got to fight for every point,” Kenin said. “She’s such a tough player. I’m just so happy with this win.”
After trailing 3-1 in the second set, Williams got back into the match, breaking back and then holding for a 4-3 lead with the help of three aces. After two of them,Williams stareddownKenin,who had questioned a call earlier in that game.
At 5-all, though, Kenin got the last break she’d need with a forehand return winner off a102 mph serve.
Like Williams, who dropped eight of the match’s first 10 games, Osaka couldn’t muster a comeback after falling behind.
“I just feel like there has been a weight on me, kind of,” said Osaka, who was seeded No. 1 at a major tournament for the first time.
Siniakova never had reached the round of16 (fourth round) in singles in18 previous Slam appearances. She is better-known for her doubles success, winning championships at the French Open and Wimbledon last year and topping the rankings.
She is the first woman ranked No. 1 in doubles to defeat the singles No. 1 in more than 30 years, according to the WTA: The last occasion was when Martina Navratilova beat Steffi Graf at the1987 U.S. Open.
“I mean, it’s incredible. It’s amazing. It’s the thing I couldn’t believe,” said Siniakova, who will face 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys next. “It was my best tennis.”