Not so serene exit by Serena

Serena Williams, shoulders slumped, left Court Central with the boos of the Roland Garros crowd ringing in her ears. The Parisian supporters celebrate colourful characters but were not willing to tolerate the graceless and petulant attitude of the young American.

Ignoring the proffered hand of the umpire, she whacked a chair with her racquet in frustration following her 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 defeat to Mary Joe Fernandez.

If ever there was a vindication for brains over brawn then it was this match. The number 10 seed and younger of the Williams sisters tried to blast her opponent off the court, overwhelm her with sheer physical strength. The odd flurry apart, it merely provided Fernandez with a number of cheap points and allowed her to coast through the first set 6-3.

The 27-year-old Fernandez, 10 years her compatriot's senior, and noted for her studious approach to the game, played with thoughtful precision, moving her opponent from side to side and not providing too many short balls. Williams's shot selection was frequently flawed, as she repeatedly tried to blast winners off good length balls.

Few though would have contemplated the transformation in the second set. Fernandez inexplicably started to make a series of unforced errors and hit far too many mid-court groundstrokes, which Williams punished in fine style. It was here that one saw Williams at her best, a wonderful athlete with shuddering power.

Amazingly, the match was set for a final twist. Fernandez, a finalist here in 1993, obviously decided to take a few more risks, wrest the initiative in rallies by hitting out at anything that dropped short of the baseline, a policy that quickly bore fruit. She broke Williams in the opening game of the set, easily held her own serve and then broke again to take a 3-0 advantage.

The younger American needed to restructure her game plan but lacked either the intelligence nor the motivation. Instead her impatient flails merely kept the scoreboard ticking in Fernandez's favour. It is sometimes easy to forget that she is still a precocious teenager, lacking in maturity both on and off the court, a fact illustrated by her post-match press conference.

She admitted that she couldn't keep the ball in play and that Fernandez's switch to an attacking game proved decisive in the third set but it was her assertion "I planned to do well here, you know, take the title," that really raised eyebrows.

Williams added: "I never think that I am going to lose. Even when I am match point down I think that I can win. I should have been taken off the court and immediately asked to use the facilities," she laughed.

It proved a better day for sister Venus who had little difficulty in making the next round. Martina Hingis, defending champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Austrian Barbara Schwartz also enjoyed a comfortable passage.