French Open 2021: Serena Williams upset in fourth round by Elena Rybakina
Serena Williams' record 24th Grand Slam title will have to wait as she lost to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina 6-3, 7-5 in the fourth round of the French Open.
Williams, who was the No. 7 seed at Roland Garros, made 19 unforced mistakes for 15 winners against 21-year-old Rybakina on Sunday. 21st seed Rybakina got a late break in the second set before Williams leveled it 4-4. But at 5-5, Rybakina took another break, which was her fifth of the match, and then served the match. She won her first match point with another error from Williams to advance to the quarter-finals.
Williams, a three-time French Open champion, was the top seed remaining in her half of the draw and the second-highest seed in the tournament behind fellow American Sofia Kenin (No. 4).
Rybakina will now face No. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated No. 15 Victoria Azarenka on Sunday.
The next opportunity for Williams to tie Margaret Court's record 24 Grand Slam titles will come at Wimbledon, where she has lifted the Venus Rosewater dish seven times and reached the final in her last four appearances.
What a big missed opportunity for Serena?
Lisa Dillman, Staff Writer: It was a lost opportunity in the sense that the bottom of the draw was opening well for Williams, who had dropped only one set in the first three rounds.
At the bottom, there are no players in the top 20, and in fact, there is only one Rybakina in the top 30, seeded 21st but ranked 22nd. It was Williams' best performance in Paris since reaching the fourth round in 2018.
How open is the French Open now?
Dillmann: How many times have we written that the first Grand Slam singles finalist will be at the French Open? Often, it seems so and 2021 is no exception.
The player with the most Grand Slam success at the bottom of the draw is Russia's Pavlyuchenkova, who has been in the quarterfinals of the Major seven times, including this year's French Open. But it's been 10 years since he reached the last eight at Roland Garros.
In the second half of the draw, the two highest-seeded players - defending champions and number 8 Inga Swietec and Kenin, a finalist in Paris in 2020, could meet in the quarter-finals if form remains in place.
looking forward to wimbledon
Dillman: It won't take long to resume Williams' record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title - just 22 days after Wimbledon begins. There has long been a level of comfort for Williams on the grass, and she has been a fixture in the tournament's second week since losing in the third round in 2014.
The last four times Williams has played Wimbledon, she has reached the final each time, winning twice (2015, 2016) and losing twice (2018, 2019).