Serena Is Left in Tears by Loss

By Lisa Dillman

June 26, 2005 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

WIMBLEDON, England — Whether it was a particularly nasty speed bump or yet another sign of a longer-lasting impediment won’t immediately be known, possibly for months, or even longer.

But this much is true: Serena Williams’ bid for a third Wimbledon singles title ended in tears.

Hers.

The woman who had appeared in the last three Wimbledon finals vanished from the tournament on a gloomy Saturday in the third round, exiting in the gloaming against No. 85-ranked Jill Craybas of Huntington Beach. Her demise came on Court 2, famously known as the Graveyard of Champions, having claimed the likes of Pete Sampras.

Craybas, who will turn 31 on July 4, defeated the fourth-seeded Williams, 6-3, 7-6 (4), shortly after 9 p.m. here. For Williams, it equaled her worst showing at Wimbledon; she lost in the third round in 1998.

Williams was devastated, saying she felt “horrible.” There would be no high-profile, fourth-round match Monday against her sister Venus, who earlier beat Daniela Hantuchova, 7-5, 6-3, nor the potential chance for another shot on grass at Maria Sharapova, who beat her in the final last year.

“Well, the words that I can only use are all foul,” said Williams, who was teary-eyed in the post-match news conference, and later asked for a tissue because her eyes were watering.

“It wouldn’t be proper for me to use all those words.”

Craybas will play Venus Williams on Monday -- on Court 2.

“I love that court,” Craybas said.

Hers was the shock result of the day. Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport and No. 2 and defending champion Sharapova won in straight sets. Two-time defending champion Roger Federer of Switzerland needed four sets to beat Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, and second-seeded Andy Roddick consolidated his game, beating Igor Andreev of Russia, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4), and will play Guillermo Coria of Argentina in the fourth round.

The third-round marathon between former finalist David Nalbandian of Argentina and 18-year-old Andrew Murray ended up affecting Williams-Craybas. Nalbandian beat the Scottish teenager in a five-set drama, winning, 6-7 (4), 1-6, 6-0, 6-4, 6-1, in 3 hours 13 minutes. The wild-card entrant Murray, making his Grand Slam event debut, simply grew exhausted, needing treatment from the trainer.

Williams and Craybas were supposed to follow them. But once Nalbandian pushed it into a fifth set, officials made the decision to put the women on Court 2. So they didn’t get to play in front of such luminaries as actor Sean Connery.

Since arriving here, Williams has been one frustrated former champion trying to play her way into shape. An injured left ankle kept her off the tour since the beginning of May, and the rust and extra weight were evident here.

Craybas won the first set in 42 minutes. That lasted longer than their previous match: In 2004, Williams defeated Craybas, 6-0, 6-1, in 41 minutes in the quarterfinals at Miami.

“Previously, when I played her, when I saw her across the court, I was probably thinking to myself, ‘Oh my God, I’m playing the No. 1 player in the world,’ ” Craybas said. “ ... And today, as soon as I walked on the court, I just felt like we were equals. And I think that made a big difference to me.”

Predictably, Williams raised the level of her game in the second set. But Craybas didn’t crumble. She stayed with Williams and Williams was huffing and puffing, once even standing at the back of the court to catch her breath.

Afterward, Williams appeared dismissive of Craybas, who had lost in the first round in 17 of 23 Grand Slam events.

“I think she just got balls back,” Williams said. “She didn’t do anything -- she didn’t have to do anything exceptionally well today. She just pretty much had to show up.”

With darkness fast approaching, the drama increased because it was clear they would not be able to play a third set Saturday. Fans were ignoring the warning not to use flash photography, and at one point, Craybas had to catch her service toss in the tiebreaker and start over because, she said later, she was distracted.

“I love playing tiebreakers,” said Craybas, who trains at Newport Beach Tennis Club. “I do. I just really love it. I don’t know why. So I was really excited when it got to a tiebreaker. But, again, usually at that point I was serving at 5-4, and I usually, when I’m serving, I can feel my hands shaking as I’m serving. But for some reason, I felt great.”

The message may have finally gotten through to Williams about needing to rethink her half-in, half-out approach to the sport. This wasn’t losing to her sister or Sharapova. This was going out against someone who had gotten past the second round of a Grand Slam tournament only once and who was playing in a $50,000 tournament as recently as February, in the Fort Snelling Tennis and Learning Center at St. Paul, Minn.

She didn’t win there. But Craybas was asked what she would have said had someone told her at St. Paul that she would beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon in the third round.

“I would have probably wanted it to be June really fast,” she said, laughing.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Second week at Wimbledon

There are no matches scheduled for today. Play resumes Monday with the men’s and women’s round of 16:

MEN’S FOURTH-ROUND MATCHUPS

* Roger Federer, Switzerland (1) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain (23)

* Fernando Gonzalez, Chile (21) vs. Mikhail Youzhny, Russia (31)

* Lleyton Hewitt, Australia (3) vs. Taylor Dent (24)

* Mario Ancic, Croatia (10) vs. Feliciano Lopez, Spain (26)

* Max Mirnyi, Belarus vs. Thomas Johansson, Sweden (12)

* David Nalbandian, Argentina (18) vs. Richard Gasquet, France (27)

* Dmitry Tursunov, Russia vs. Sebastien Grosjean, France (9)