Venus Williams ousted by unknown Pironkova
Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in a shocking upset of 6-2 6-3 in the quarter-final match at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
This would be the first time in four years that the currently second seeded Williams fails to reach the Wimbledon finals, with her last absence in the final match being back in 2006. Pironkova, seeded at No 82, took the lead right from the start of the match, and beat Williams in an hour and 25 minutes on Court One, blasting her out of the tournament in a straight set victory.
The two women shared the first four games until Pironkova commandeered the next five to get control of the game.
The 22-year-old Bulgarian did not seem intimidated by the power and ferocity of Williams, displaying poise and confidence for the entire match. A slew of errors and misses from Williams aided Pironkova by boosting her confidence and giving her break point advantages.
Williams managed to ward off two match points in the second to last game of the match, and when Pironkova ended up losing the first point on her serve in the next game, it seemed like nerves were flying all over the court.
But Pironkova gained composure during the next four points, as Williams ended up sending a wide volley to mark the end of the match. Throughout the match, Williams committed an uncharacteristic high of 29 unforced errors.
Coming into the tournament ranked at 82nd in the world, Pironkova now awaits a very real chance at her first Wimbledon tournament final. Her shocking defeat of Williams comes only a day after Taiwan's 82nd ranked Lu Yen-Shun beat out three-time previous Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick on Monday.
Pironkova in disbelief at own victory
“It’s like a dream, coming here I never thought I’d play that well and come this far in the tournament,” Pironkova said. “I think I played pretty well today, I’m very happy with my game.
“I have one win over her and thought I could win and I was going for it,” said the 22-year-old who scored a three-set win over Venus at the Australian Open four years ago.
Williams managed to save two match points while serving at 2-5 in set two, yet Pironkova made no errors on her own serve, finally claiming the victory when Williams hit a forehand too wide.
The Bulgarian rolled onto her back, taking a bit of time to process her incredible win, and burying her face in her hands. The overjoyed Pironkova then proceeded to walk to the net, suddenly having become the first Bulgarian woman to reach a semi-final at a Grand Slam since the game of tennis turned professional.
Pironkova is the lowest ranked remaining player in the ladies’ draw and is now set to play either Russian Vera Zvonareva or Belgium’s Kim Clijsters to secure a place in Saturday’s tournament final.
Sisters seek 5th Grand Slam doubles title
Pironkova had never previously made it past the second round at a Grand Slam, although she did reach the quarter-finals after defeating Marion Bartoli of France, the 2007 Wimbledon finalist.
Williams had her hopes set on a ninth Wimbledon final, having player Serena Williams, her younger sister, in four of those final match ups.
The American sisters are also currently aiming for a fifth successive Grand Slam doubles title.
Pironkova's surprising upset win guarantees that there will be somewhere from two to four first-time semifinalists at the Wimbledon tournament, along with the winner of the match on Tuesday between Estonian Kaia Kanepi and Czech Peta Kvitova.
Vera Zvonareva of Russia and Chinese Na Li are potential first-timers as well, having to play against Serena Williams and Belgian Kim Cljisters to make it through.
Tags: