VENUS OUT AT CHILLY FRENCH
Oldest in draw won’t join sis Serena
PARIS Finally back on court after two days of rain, Venus Williams warmed up for her fourth-round French Open match Wednesday in a zipped-up grey coat, something more appropriate for winter wear.
Once play began, the No. 9-seeded Williams never really gave herself a chance to join her sister in the quarter-finals, coming up short in a bid to get back to that stage at Roland Garros for the first time in a decade. Williams dropped eight games in a row during one early stretch and lost 6-2, 6-4 to No. 8 Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland.
“The most disappointing part is just not playing well,” Williams said. “She played a smart match.
“That definitely added to my troubles.”
The American started well enough, taking a 2-0 lead, before Bacsinszky added more variety to her strokes and took complete control. Williams managed just six winners while committing 24 unforced errors.
Venus turns 36 this month and was the oldest woman in the field.
“She’s definitely an inspiration,” said Bacsinszky, who lost to Serena in last year’s French Open semifinals, “because if you see how long she is lasting as a tennis player, it’s something unbelievable.”
Wasting no time, defending champion Serena moved closer to her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over 18th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in just 62 minutes.
Like her sister’s contest, this match originally was scheduled for Monday, but showers forced the cancellation of an entire day of play at Roland Garros for the first time in 16 years. Then on Tuesday, more rain allowed for a total of only two hours of play around the grounds, and all fourth-round matches on the top half of the women’s draw were pushed back again.
The No. 1-seeded Serena looked very much like a 21-time Grand Slam champion facing a 21-yearold who has only reached one major quarter-final, with a 27-10 advantage in winners.
Now Serena faces unseeded Yulia Putinseva of Kazakhstan, who reached her first major quarterfinal by eliminating No. 12 Carla Suarez Navarro 7-5, 7-5.
“Of course she’s the best player,” Putinseva said. “She’s a legend.”
Backsinszky will play 58thranked Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, whose first Grand Slam quarter-final came via a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over No. 15 Madison Keys of the United States.
The quarter-finals in the top half of the men’s draw also were finally established. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic got just what he wanted, wrapping up a rain-interrupted victory with a minimum of trouble to get to the quarter-finals at the 28th consecutive major.
Aiming to win his fourth major trophy in a row and complete a career Grand Slam, Djokovic needed only 71 minutes Wednesday to finish off a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 win against No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.
In the quarter-finals Thursday, Djokovic will play No. 7 Tomas Berdych, while No. 12 David Goffin meets No. 13 Dominic Thiem.