Serena Williams trudged out of Roland Garros on Friday after her French Open dreams were pounded into the red clay by a tenacious Slovenian who never lost belief.

Less than 24 hours after the tournament saw the defeat of three top 10 seeds, including David Nalbandian and James Blake, the American joined them at the exit queue as she roared and screamed her way to a 6-4, 6-4 mauling by Katarina Srebotnik in the third round.

“I knew it was going to be a tough match but what can I say? She just played unbelievable today,” said Williams, who had gone into the match with a 3-0 record against Srebotnik.

The fifth seed’s defeat also meant a new name would be engraved on the Suzanne Lenglen Cup next week as she was the only former champion in the women’s draw.

Triple champion Rafael Nadal, playing for the fourth day running in the rain-hit tournament, can look forward to a rest day at long last after he crushed Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.

No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic beat Wayne Odesnik 7-5, 6-4, 6-2, which left Robby Ginepri as the only American in the men’s draw.

Williams’s loss cleared the way for a final showdown between Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic, the top two seeds who withstood some fierce resistance on Friday before marching on.

Overcoming wobbles

An erratic Ivanovic overcame a slight wobble in the first set before downing Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-1 to reach the fourth round, while Sharapova huffed and puffed her way to a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 second-round win over American Bethanie Mattek.

... contd.