Venus no match for Stephens, 22
Another early exit for elder Williams
PARIS — A loss by Venus Williams in the first round at a Grand Slam is no longer the rarity it once was.
And, as it happens, the woman who beat Williams Monday at the French Open — Sloane Stephens, 22 — is making a concerted effort, at her coach’s behest, to focus less on who is on the other side of the net.
Still, it was hard not to see Stephens’ 7-6 (5), 6-1 dismissal of seven-time major champion Williams, who at 34 was the oldest woman in the field, as a statement about the directions their careers are heading.
For 15th-seeded Williams, it was her second opening defeat in three years at Roland Garros.
It also was the fifth time in the past 13 Grand Slam tournaments she has entered that she exited in the first round. Before that stretch, it happened once in 37 majors.
Williams didn’t show up for a news conference, meaning she could face a fine. Instead, she issued a five-sentence statement that read in part: “When you arrive at any tournament, you hope you will have a chance to work your way into the event, but I didn’t have that opportunity — she just played better than me today.”
No. 40 Stephens, who has reached the French Open’s fourth round the past three years, was consistently strong from the baseline, making only 14 unforced errors to Williams’ 30.
“I want her to play with a sense of joy ... and play everything as well as she can, relentlessly, and not be concerned with the result. Let the result take care of itself. And she did a good job of that,” said Stephens’ coach, Nick Saviano.
The biggest victory of Stephens’ career came at the 2013 Australian Open, where
Match of the day: Unseeded women Denisa Allertova and and Johanna Konta played a 68-minute first set that featured a 36point tiebreaker won by Allertova, who eventually took the match, 7-6 (17), 4-6, 6-2.
Stat of day: 5 — Number of times Venus Williams has lost in the first round in her past 13 Grand Slam events.
Looking ahead: Men — No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Jarkko Nieminen. Women — No. 1 Serena Williams vs. Andrea Hlavackova.
TV: 10 a.m. Tennis Channel, 5 a.m. ESPN2. she defeated Williams’ younger sister Serena en route to the semifinals.
This was the first time Stephens had faced Venus, other than beating her in an exhibition as a teen.
“But I don’t think that really counts,” Stephens said.
Now Stephens joins Lindsay Davenport as the only Americans to have beaten each Williams at a Grand Slam tournament.
Two other seeded women lost: No. 14 Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 22 Barbora Strycova. Peters Township native Alison Riske, ranked 46th in the world, lost to No. 17 seed Sara Errani, 7-6 (1), 26, 6-0. Two seeded men exited, too, including No. 11 Feliciano Lopez, who now has 10 first-round exits in 15 appearances in Paris.
Winners included No. 3 Andy Murray, who played with his wedding ring tied to his shoe and improved to 110 since getting married, and defending women’s champ Maria Sharapova, who was jeered off the court for skipping the customary postmatch interview.
Sharapova cited a cold and coughed repeatedly while getting past Kaia Kanepi, 6-2, 6-4. When asked later about not talking to the fans, she said their reaction was “absolutely normal ... but I’ve got to do what I have to do.”