| | Associated Press
Results
PARIS -- For the first time in more than 30 years, there
will be no Americans in the semifinals at the French Open.
|  | | Chanda Rubin was a surprising quarterfinalist, but she didn't last long against Martina Hingis. |
The U.S. women went 0-for-3 in the quarterfinals Tuesday, with
third-seeded Monica Seles, fourth-seeded Venus Williams and
unseeded Chanda Rubin eliminated.
Seles was the last to depart, losing to No. 6 Mary Pierce of
France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Williams lost a seesaw struggle with No. 8
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, 6-0, 1-6, 6-2. Rubin was beaten by No. 1
Martina Hingis, 6-1, 6-3.
Michael Chang, the last of the U.S. men, lost Friday. Until now,
at least one American reached the French Open semifinals every year
since the open era began in 1968.
"It's just one of those things," Seles said. "And for most
American players, clay is not their favorite surface."
Seles committed 15 unforced errors in the final set against
Pierce and had two double faults serving at 3-3.
"I just had a terrible lapse," she said. "You really cannot
let those mistakes creep in at those times."
Pierce belted baseline winners into the corners down the
stretch. She has had a sometimes strained relationship with French
fans, but she grinned and waved when they responded to her victory
with a standing ovation.
"They were really great to me, supporting me even after I lost
the first set," Pierce said. "I had a great time and played great
tennis."
Her opponent in the semifinals Thursday will be Hingis, who
needs two more victories to claim the only Grand Slam title she has
yet to win.
Williams, reluctant to come to the net, lost trying to match
groundstrokes with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. The steady Spaniard has
won three titles at Roland Garros playing from the baseline, and
she dominated a series of long rallies against Williams, who
committed 48 unforced errors.
The 6-foot-1 Williams is an imposing figure at the net, but she
said the slow clay court prevented her from getting there. She made
it just 13 times, one less than her opponent.
"Even when I'm stepping into a lot of my shots, she was getting
them back," Williams said. "When I was coming in, she was
lobbing. On a grass court, I think maybe she wouldn't have as much
time."
Williams was playing in only her third tournament after being
sidelined for six months with tendinitis in both wrists.
"The level of my game is not anywhere near normal," Williams
said. "Each shot I have to think about. Under any normal
conditions, I don't have to think about my shots."
On another chilly day at Roland Garros, with temperatures in the
50s, Williams had a hard time getting started. She committed 20
errors in the first five games and lost them all.
Williams rebounded in the second set but fell behind 3-0 in the
third and looked increasingly tired as she lost a succession of
long points from the baseline. By the end, Williams was muttering
to herself between points.
The tournament was her last chance to win a Grand Slam title as
a teenager. She turns 20 on June 17, nine days before Wimbledon
begins.
Sanchez-Vicario won the French Open as a 17-year-old in 1989,
and again in 1994 and 1998. She'll meet Martinez in the semifinals.
| |
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