Hungary’s Agnes Szavay scored the biggest upset of the 2009 French Open so far early on Friday by ousting third seed Venus Williams.
Szavay handed Williams a blistering 6-0, 6-4 defeat to advance into the fourth round of Roland Garros.
It was a disappointing performance for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s world number three. She struggled to win her opening matches in three sets against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, but today against Szavay she could not force a deciding set.
Although Szavay played more tentatively in the second set, she converted her first match point when a tight backhand by Williams ended in the net.
After starting the 2009 season winless in the first two months, Szavay finished in the fourth round at Miami and Indian Wells and reached the quarterfinals at Acapulco and Madrid.
The clay courts of Paris have not been kind to Williams recently as she has lost in the third round for the past three years. However, after each occasion she went on to triumph at the All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon.
Williams’s absence from the second quarter now opens the draw for three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova. Sharapova is scheduled to play her third round match against Yaroslava Shevdova later on Friday.
