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So long, Serena Third-seeded Williams stunned by 16th-seeded Likhovtseva
Posted: Monday January 24, 2000 11:38 PM
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Serena Williams could have been fined for net abuse. A succession of backhands into that barrier cost her the first set, and she exited with a final failure to get the ball over. Thus No. 16 Elena Likhovtseva advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-3 victory Monday, and Williams fumbled for answers as to what went wrong. "I think that maybe - I don't know why I made so many errors. I wouldn't do anything right, almost as if - I just - just didn't do anything right this match," the 18-year-old U.S. Open champion said. "Maybe I started thinking too far in the match," she suggested. Likhovtseva didn't have that problem. The 24-year-old Russian never before had reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal, and said she felt no pressure. Lleyton Hewitt bore the expectations of the home fans excited by his 13-match, two-tournament winning streak, but fell 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (6) to No. 12 Magnus Norman. The Swede, in his second Grand Slam quarterfinal, hit 45 winners past the 18-year-old Australian, known for his energetic retrieving and solid shotmaking. The third-seeded Williams was leading 3-1 in the first set when her game disintegrated and she lost eight consecutive games. In the first set's last five games, she hit 10 backhands into the net, although the last of them wasn't her fault. Likhovtseva hit a stinging forehand to Williams' wobbly backhand side to clinch the set. Williams had saved three set points in a six-deuce game where she served two aces and played some serve-and-volley winners, but also served two double faults. From 0-3 in the second set, Williams rebounded to 3-3, with help from two aces and an overpowering serve return. She had two chances to break for 4-3, but lost one when Likhovtseva suddenly switched from attacking the backhand to find an open forehand court, and the other when she hit a forehand into the net. Two more backhands into the net by Williams - her 16th and 17th backhand errors for the day - gave Likhovtseva the first of her three match points, and then the match. In all, Williams had 32 unforced errors - 12 more than Likhovtseva. Williams, who had looked sharp in winning her third-round match, rejected suggestions that her loss resulted from a lack of match play since last October. "There's no excuse for me to have lost this match," she said. "I can't say that because I didn't play a [warm-up] tournament, that's why I lost. That's not true."
She said she would "punish myself by finishing some homework I have to do, 38 drawings" for a design course. Likhovtseva said she came in knowing what tactics to expect from Williams, but "she wasn't playing the game she normally plays. I just tried to keep the ball in play." Likhovtseva, who was married in Las Vegas four months ago, meets No. 10 Conchita Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion. Martinez beat American Kristina Brandi 6-1, 6-1. No. 1 Martina Hingis had to come back from 0-3 in the second set to beat No. 12 Sandrine Testud 6-1, 7-6 (3). She won 20 of the last 22 points in the first set before her brief lapse. Hingis, who now has won 25 consecutive matches at Australian Opens, said she was sorry to see Williams out. "I thought I would have a good chance to beat her right here, right now, especially because it has been my tournament for the last three years. I haven't lost here yet. ... You always want to compete against the best." In the quarters, she meets No. 13 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, a 1-6, 6-0, 7-5 winner over No. 6 Barbara Schett. Among the 16 seeded men, only five remain, but they include the top four. Defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, seeded second, beat Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus 6-1, 6-3, 7-5. Rochus had eliminated No. 15 Albert Costa in the first round, but against Kafelnikov was unable to cash in on any of his 12 break points. Kafelnikov served 14 aces to Rochus' three, and beat him 45 to 26 in winners. Kafelnikov next plays Younes El Aynaoui, who beat France's Arnaud Clement 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinals and join fellow Moroccan Hicham Arazi. No. 4 Nicolas Kiefer defeated South Africa's Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, and next plays Norman.
In the other half of the draw, Arazi faces No. 1 Andre Agassi,
and unseeded American Chris Woodruff plays No. 3 Pete Sampras.
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