The most anticipated and potentially heated match at the French Open so far — Serena Williams against Justine Henin — fizzled from the start.
Williams, an eight-time Grand Slam champion and No. 8 seed, hit backhands long and forehands short. She stretched her muscular limbs to put a racket on some of Henin’s shots, only to double over, nearly kissing the clay. She shouted “C’mon!” as self-motivation but never took her own advice in the 6-4, 6-3 loss Tuesday that lasted 78 minutes.
Only once did Williams look as fierce as usual. In the second set, she threw her racket with such force and anger that it landed several feet behind her. The crowd, otherwise polite, responded with jeers and whistles. Later, Williams said her performance was “hideous and horrendous.”
“Serena kept hitting the balls in the net, and Serena kept making errors,” she said at her news conference, where she proceeded to flog herself for playing “like a maniac.”
It was particularly deflating for Williams to exit in the quarterfinals after making such a spectacular comeback to win this year’s Australian Open. She was ranked 81st then after missing several months with an injured left knee.
For Henin, the victory was a confidence boost on her way to a possible third consecutive French Open title. The top seed will next play Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the semifinals.
