Serena Williams’ quest for a 24th grand slam singles title goes on after a fourth-round defeat by Elena Rybakina at the French Open.
Having come into the tournament with low expectations, Williams had looked solid through her first three matches, and, with big names falling by the wayside, the American surged up the list of title favourites.
She went into the match against her 21-year-old Kazakh opponent as the only top-20 player left in the bottom half but an unexpected finalist is now guaranteed after Williams fell to a 6-3 7-5 defeat.
Rybakina was not born when Williams made her debut at Roland Garros but a brilliant start to 2020 marked her out as a potential major challenger.
She has not shown the same form this season, and this was her first time through to the last 16 at a slam, but she played a calm and controlled match on the biggest stage of her life.
Rybakina’s big serve and powerful forehand frequently proved too much for Williams, who did not play badly but lacked precision at important moments.
Rybakina moved ahead early, breaking to lead 3-1, and, although Williams responded with a break back for 3-4, she dropped serve again straight away and the young Kazakh clinched the set on her fourth chance.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Williams staying in touch with Rybakina but vulnerable every time her opponent found her hitting zone.
A final break for 6-5 proved the key – Rybakina appearing nerveless as she converted her first match point.
Williams can at least take a good week of match practice into Wimbledon, which is surely her best chance of finally claiming that elusive 24th.
Meanwhile, the former Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka was eliminated from the French Open by Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and then criticised tournament organisers for their unequal scheduling throughout the tournament. On seven of the first eight days of the event, a men’s match was chosen for the new night session on Court Philippe Chatrier.
“Somebody from the French Federation is continually trying to say there is equality,” Azarenka said, “and only pointing out to prize money, which is true. Everything else, I wouldn’t even agree with that.”
As Azarenka added: “There are enough examples over the years where we’ve heard remarks towards women, where we’ve seen two women’s semi-final matches playing on the outside courts. If you follow tennis, you know what I’m talking about.”
Konta splits with coach Dimitri Zavialoff ahead of grass-court season
British No 1 Johanna Konta revealed that she had parted company with her coach, Dimitri Zavialoff, in a move that suggests some uncertainty about her approach to the grass-court season.
The Frenchman was at Konta’s side throughout her superbly consistent 2019 season, when she reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open as well as the semi-finals of the French Open.
They originally parted last summer after a bereavement in Zavialoff’s family, but when they reunited in November, it seemed to augur well for a revival in Konta’s fortunes after a disappointing 2020 in which she scored only one win over a top-50 player.
Unfortunately, this year has continued in the same vein, with only three wins from 10 matches. It was not clear from Konta’s comments who lost patience with whom – indeed, she did her best not to acknowledge the split at all – but the upshot is that the French Open was Zavialoff’s last event as part of her team.
This week, as Konta contests the Viking Open in Nottingham, she will be working with her assistant coach, the former British tour player Dan Smethurst. She will open her campaign against world No 177 Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, probably on Tuesday,
“We left on very good terms,” Konta said, “and Dimitri will always be a very big part of my career and my life.” Asked if she was looking to appoint a successor, she replied: “I am taking some time and seeing how I want to do things.”
She also defended herself against suggestions that she changed coaches frequently, saying “a lot more players go through a lot more coaches than I do”, although few of her signings have lasted much longer than a single season.