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Femmes fatale Williams, Mauresmo fall immediately
Updated: Monday May 28, 2001 4:55 PM
PARIS (AP) -- Wearing an elegant necklace and dangling earrings that sparkled in the warm sunshine, Venus Williams looked resplendent Monday at the French Open. Then her match began. Williams' game lacked its usual glitter, and she was upset in the opening round by talented Austrian Barbara Schett, 6-4, 6-4. It was the latest in a series of disappointments at Roland Garros for the No. 2-seeded Williams, who has played in the tournament five times and has yet to reach the semifinals. "Not the happiest day of my life," she said. "I never dreamed it would turn out like this." One day into the tournament, only two of the five top-seeded women remain. No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo of France, unnerved by the occasion, lost to Jana Kandarr of Germany 7-5, 7-5. No. 3 Lindsay Davenport withdrew Sunday because of a knee injury. No. 1 Martina Hingis and No. 4 Jennifer Capriati play their opening matches Tuesday. The outlook isn't bright for Williams' sister, Serena. She's seeded sixth but coming back from a two-month layoff because of a knee injury, and her father, Richard, said she has been bothered recently by a sore ankle and an upset stomach. But she's expected to play her first-round match Tuesday against Sarah Pitkowski. Winners on the men's side included No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten and highly touted 18-year-old American Andy Roddick, making his French Open debut. Roddick swept Scott Draper 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 and will next play countryman Michael Chang, who won the 1989 title at age 17. No. 3 Andre Agassi and No. 5 Pete Sampras open Tuesday. Venus Williams had hoped to add the French to the Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Olympic titles she won last year. She arrived in Paris healthy, rested and confident after winning a clay tournament in Hamburg earlier this month. But she may have been rusty as well. The match was only her seventh since March, inviting renewed criticism that she doesn't play enough to stay sharp. "I think I've played a lot already this year," she said. "My groundstrokes were just off. I was just making quite a few errors for no apparent reason at all." Clay requires patience, and Williams seldom showed it against Schett, going for winners too early in the point and smacking 43 unforced errors. The two longest rallies came in the tense final game, and Williams won both, but she squandered several chances to pull even in the set and reverse the momentum. "Normally I do turn it around," she said. "But today it just wasn't there." Williams sometimes overcomes erratic baseline play by dominating at the net, but on the clay she rarely attacked. In her defense, she drew an unusually difficult first-round foe in the hard-hitting Schett, who is ranked 24th and reached the fourth round last year at Roland Garros. Clay stains on Schett's dress were a testament to the hard-earned victory. Twice the Austrian skidded to the court in pursuit of shots, losing both points but winning cheers from the crowd. Schett had the better serve and fought off jitters down the stretch to beat Williams for the first time in their five meetings. "I knew deep inside I would be able to beat her," a giddy Schett said. "I mean, of course she didn't play her best tennis today. She made a lot of unforced errors. But who cares? I don't." Williams overcame three match points, then hit a service return long on the fourth. Schett gleefully pumped her fist as Richard Williams smiled and applauded. "I don't think you can make excuses," the elder Williams said. "Barbara Schett played a great game." The hasty departures of Williams and Mauresmo open up their half of the draw. Four top 10 women were already missing from the field because of injuries -- Davenport, defending champion Mary Pierce, three-time champ Monica Seles and Anna Kournikova. Mauresemo, winner of four tournaments this year, was considered a title threat but squandered a 5-1 lead in the second set against Kandarr and blamed nerves. "It was just a state of mind I was in, and I couldn't overcome it," Mauresmo said. "You feel as though you're being overwhelmed." Kuerten, favored to win his third French title, beat Guillermo Coria 6-1, 7-5, 6-4. No. 4 Juan Carlos Ferrero, No. 6 Lleyton Hewitt and No. 7 Yevgeny Kafelnikov also won. No. 12 Arnaud Clement and No. 15 Jan-Michael Gambill were eliminated.
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