MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - Wimbledon champion Venus Williams was knocked out of the Australian Open in the first round Monday, losing 2-6, 6-0, 9-7 to Tszvetana Pironkova.
It was only the third time in 34 Grand Slam tournaments that the five-time major winner has lost in the opening round.
The 10th-seeded Williams had 65 unforced errors, including 41 in the third set, as she struggled to control her groundstrokes in her first tour-level event since September.
"It happens to the best of us," Williams said. "I had so many unforced errors, I struggled to keep the ball in. I just couldn't get it right - she benefited from my largesse.
"If I had just one-third less errors, this match is a different story."
Bulgaria's Pironkova, ranked 94th, was broken when she served for the match in the ninth game of the third set.
Williams, who also had a chance to serve for the match in the 12th game, screamed when she gave Pironkova match point with a backhand into the net. She surrendered the 2 hour, 28-minute match on another backhand error.
Williams couldn't explain how she went from highly consistent in the first set, to completely erratic in the second.
Pironkova said she took advantage of Williams' errors, getting more relaxed as the match progressed.
"I know Venus from the TV. I always love her game. She was kind of my idol before," Pironkova said. "But when you go on court, I am a professional, so I should not think about that. I just have to play tennis, and I did."
The match turned against Williams when she missed a routine overhead in the first game of the second set that could have given her two break points.
Pironkova held and went on a six-game winning stretch.
After trading breaks to open the deciding set, Pironkova was serving for the match at 5-3 before Williams rallied, winning three straight games and getting a chance to serve for the match at 6-5.
Williams was broken in that game on a forehand error, then looked up in a mixture of frustration and disbelief. She lost in the first round at Wimbledon in 1997 and at the French Open in 2001. Her previous earliest exit in Australia was in the third round.
Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Australian wild card entry Casey Dellacqua, ranked No. 180.
Maria Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, had 20 winners and only faced one break point as she beat Germany's Sandra Kloesel 6-2, 6-1 in 59 minutes.
Davenport, seeking her fourth Grand Slam singles title and first since her win here in 2000, set up three match points with an ace and clinched it in 57 minutes with an overhead winner.
Davenport next faces Croatia's Karolina Sprem, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine.
No. 9 Elena Dementieva was the first seeded player ousted. The 24-year-old Russian, a semifinalist at the last U.S. Open, lost 7-5, 6-2 to Germany's Julia Schruff.
No. 24 Tatiana Golovin and No. 26 Ai Sugiyama followed her out, losing to Mara Santangelo and Conchita Martinez Granados of Spain.
Former Wimbledon semifinalist Jelena Dokic, who won a wild-card tournament to gain entry to her first Australian Open since 2001, crumbled after thinking she'd won in straight sets against Virginie Razzano.
Dokic celebrated a forehand on match point in the 12th game of the second set, but it was called out.
Razzano rallied to win it 3-6 7-6 (6) 6-1.
Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, seeded 17th, overcame Japan's Saori Obata 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 and No. 6 Nadia Petrova defeated Australia's Sophie Ferguson 6-2, 6-1.
On the men's side, Masters Cup champion David Nalbandian, seeded No. 4, overcame Thai qualifier Danai Udomchoke to advance 6-2, 6-2, 1-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1.
Eighth-seeded Gaston Gaudio had a shorter-than-expected opener. The 2004 French Open champion was leading 6-2, 5-0 when Romania's Razvan Sabau retired with an injured right elbow.
No. 13 Robby Ginepri only needed 1 hour, 19 minutes for a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Austria's Jurgen Melzer.
It was an easy start for Ginepri, who developed a reputation for going the distance in his last appearance at a major. The 23-year-old American reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open, where he became the first man in the Open era to play four five-set matches at one tournament.
"Winning in three is a much better start - it's easier on the body," said Ginepri.
Also advancing were No. 7 Ivan Ljubicic, No. 11 David Ferrer, No. 16 Tommy Robredo, No. 17 Radek Stepanek and No. 18 Mario Ancic.
No. 27 Taylor Dent lost in straight sets to Spain's Guillermo Garcia Lopez, and former No. 1-ranked Carlos Moya went down to Andrei Pavel.
No. 2-ranked Andy Roddick was scheduled for his first match later Monday against Michael Lammer, a 23-year-old qualifier from Switzerland.
James Blake, who won the Sydney International on the weekend, was to play Jose Acasuso of Argentina.
Defending women's champion Serena Williams was scheduled to play against China's Li Na in the first night match on center court.
Tuesday
September 9th, 2025
3:24AM
