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Vaidisova capitalizes on Venus' mistakes

Czech teen impresses while reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal.

By TIMES WIRES
Published June 7, 2006

PARIS - Venus Williams shanked overheads, dumped volleys into the net and sailed strokes several feet long, 70 unforced errors in all. Not at her best and it didn't help that she was facing a younger version of herself in 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova.

With power aplenty, precocious talent and a steely resolve, Vaidisova reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by coming back to upset Williams 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-3 at the French Open on Tuesday.

"You can believe I'll watch the film and figure out the things I didn't do right," said Williams, a five-time major champion and former No. 1. "She played well. She deserved to win."

Vaidisova knocked off the current No. 1, Amelie Mauresmo, in the previous round, and will meet 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova for a berth in Saturday's final. Kim Clijsters plays 2003 and 2005 French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne in an all-Belgian semifinal, and a win would push Clijsters back to No. 1.

Kuznetsova erased a 5-1 deficit in the first set against No. 14 Dinara Safina and won 24 of 27 points in the second en route to a 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 victory.

"It maybe looked like I was not awake," Kuznetsova said of her slow start.

Clijsters beat Martina Hingis 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, and Henin-Hardenne eliminated Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-5, 6-2.

In the men's quarterfinals, top-ranked Roger Federer beat No. 12 Mario Ancic 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 for his 26th consecutive victory in Grand Slam action.

"I'm much more relaxed now," said Federer, trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win four major titles in a row. "There was enormous pressure at the start of the tournament, with everybody speaking about a final against (defending champion Rafael) Nadal. But first you have to win the matches before you get there."

He'll face No. 3 David Nalbandian, a 6-3, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 winner over No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko.

The 16th-seeded Vaidisova is the only member of the women's final four who hasn't won a Grand Slam title. When she was a kid, she played with the same yellow racket she had seen Williams use. Two years ago, Vaidisova made her Grand Slam debut as a qualifier at the U.S. Open and was excited to simply set foot in the locker room, gawking at the collection of tennis stars.

Is the Czech teen one of them now?

"No, not yet," Vaidisova said, smiling, "but I'm working on it."

Vaidisova grew more and more consistent as she and Williams played past the two-hour mark. Williams, meanwhile, was more and more erratic. When Vaidisova broke to 3-1 in the second set, it came thanks to two errant backhands by Williams, one with the court wide open.

In the final set, Williams made 24 unforced errors, 10 more than Vaidisova. Four came when Williams was broken in the fifth game: an off-the-mark volley, a backhand long, a forehand into the net, a double-fault.

Williams was far from the confident player who re-emerged at Wimbledon last year, and perhaps that's a result of a lack of matches. Right elbow and other arm injuries meant the French Open was Williams' fourth tournament of 2006.

"I'm disappointed. I would have loved to have done better," said Williams, the last American - man or woman - in the tournament. "During the last six weeks, I had a lot of challenges, physically, that I was able to overcome just to be here today."

Hingis, also 25, was at her first French Open since 2001, having taken three years off tour because of assorted foot and ankle injuries. Playing for a fifth straight day, she looked sluggish against reigning U.S. Open champion Clijsters.

Hingis, though, took delight in seeing Vaidisova play.

"Somehow, yeah, makes you feel young again when you see someone like that who is playing so well," Hingis said. "She's definitely got potential."

[Last modified June 7, 2006, 02:00:17]