Coming into Roland Garros, Serena Williams was the tournament's biggest favorite. Although ranked 5th in the world, the American is considered to be the best player on the tour, especially due to her outstanding performance at the Slams, where she collected 13 titles, a record amongst active players. Moreover, Serena has played unbeliavable on clay this season comprising a 17 match winning streak which includes convincing wins in Charleston and Madrid. So how could anyone expect her to lose her first round encounter, especially as she was playing someone outside the top 100?
But tennis is not a predictable sport and just a few reckless moments can turn a match around. Serena learned this the hard way, as she let a 5-1 advantage in the second set's tiebreak slip by to allow her opponent to level the match. Frustration took over and an erratic display saw her quickly fall 0-5 behind in the decider. Williams, who describes herself as the ultimate fighter in the sport, refused to give in though, clawing her way back to 3-5 and even holding several points for 4-5. It was her unforced errors that eventually got the best and, on her 8th match point, Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano sealed "the most beautiful victory" of her career as yet another of Williams' shots went begging.
Having gone 46-0 prior to this clash, the loss marks Serena's maiden first round defeat at a Slam. Although "not happy, by any means", Williams said she always believes things could be worse, so we shouldn't expect her to hide away covered in shame. She remains optimistic about her chances in the mixed doubles competition, where she teams up with double specialist Bob Bryan, and will surely be looking forward to setting things straight at Wimbledon.
photo: GETTY IMAGES
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