Kim Clijsters’s singles career is over, Andy Roddick will retire after theUnited States Open and fans lost another Open darling early Friday morning when Venus Williams fell to Angelique Kerber of Germany, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.
The Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd was relentless in its support for Williams and she rose to the occasion, gutting out 2 hours 25 minutes of effort that made her second-round slugfest perhaps the best match of the tournament.
Kerber had eliminated Williams at the London Olympics last month in dramatic fashion, rallying twice in tiebreakers that Williams seemed to have won.
After that match, Williams said, “She had the answers.”
In the rematch, Kerber found a way to answer the roars of the crowd, which rattled her and revitalized Williams.
Kerber complained to the umpire about crowd noise, but the fans did not relent. At one point the umpire politely thanked the crowd after he asked for silence and a fan broke the silence by shouting, “You’re welcome!”
Williams has struggled with an autoimmune disorder since pulling out of the Open last year before a second-round match.
This year fatigue still seems to be an issue for Williams, 32 years old and less powerful than the star who won consecutive Open titles more than a decade ago.
Williams double-faulted to lose the first game of the match, and four times over all in the set, receiving louder sighs of disappointment from the crowd.
The momentum shifted in her favor in the second set. When she lost the first game, the crowd responded with a rally cry: “Let’s go Venus!”
Williams then lost the second game, but she toughed it out in the third to finally win a service game and eventually took a 3-2 lead.
Williams and Kerber traded games until a Williams winner finally closed out the second set, 7-5.
The final set featured similar sparring and a shift in demeanors. Williams sat upright during breaks and bobbed back and forth in her chair. Kerber sought refuge underneath a towel that she draped over her head and upper body.
It is hard to imagine that a towel could block out the crowd, but it was enough to keep Kerber focused. She won the final three games to seal the match.
Earlier in the day,
Serena Williams overpowered María José Martínez Sánchez of Spain, 6-2, 6-4, hitting 32 winners to Sánchez’s 5. But six double faults and 24 unforced errors by Williams kept the match somewhat interesting.
After being down, 2-0, in the second set, the fourth-seeded Williams rallied, seemingly invigorated by a range of demonstrative actions. For all of the hustle and muscle she displayed in the match, Williams expended nearly as much energy after each point, whether she smacked a winner down the line or flubbed a shot into the net.
At various points in the set’s third game, Williams, a 14-time Grand Slam singles champion, squatted, slouched, bent over, stared at her racket or yelled with her palms opened to the sky, shouting, “What are you doing?”
More often, however, she clenched her fists and pumped her arms, as she advanced to the third round.
In her postmatch address to the crowd, Williams responded to the news that Andy Roddick, whom she has known since she was 10 years old, had announced his retirement.
“I knew for a while,” Williams said. “He told me this would probably be his last tournament. I was hoping he would change his mind, but I guess not.”
She added: “He’s been so amazing for men’s American tennis and so amazing to watch. I’m sad to see another face gone.”
James Blake defeated No. 24 Marcel Granollers of Spain at Louis Armstrong Stadium, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Blake held serve throughout the match, and it marked the first time he had beaten a seeded player at the Open since 2006.
Though Blake thought Roddick’s win over Roger Federer in Miami this year might persuade Roddick to play another year, Blake, like Williams, was not surprised by Roddick’s announcement, citing the many injuries in Roddick’s career.
“I don’t know what it feels like, but it’s got to hurt when you serve 140 miles per hour for 10, 12 years,” Blake said.
Top-seeded Roger Federer handily beat Bjorn Phau of Germany, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, in 90 minutes.
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