TENNIS:After all the bluster and baggage from their last meeting at Roland Garros four years ago and the hint that underlying animosity might seep out on to the clay of Philippe Chatrier, Serena Williams departed Paris rather too easily.
The prospect of a "Serena Slam" is over and the possibility of Justine Henin winning a third title in succession and her fourth overall is still alive.
But for Williams, it was the manner of her departure as much as the result that will have scarred her.
"Long, long, long" was her sister's refrain when she was knocked out in the third round. The bug that flattened Venus has now undone Serena, who declared that she had never, ever played as worse in the quarter-final of a Grand Slam.
Unusually most people agreed. It wasn't just long, long, long but net, net, net. There was also a little thump, thump, thump as her racket took the brunt of her frustration in the 6-4, 6-3 defeat.
"I pretty much stood back and let her take advantage of me," said Williams afterwards. "And I feel violated." Yes, she really did say that, adding: "I have never played so hideous and horrendous . . . I think all she had to do was show up."
Henin broke Williams' serve in the first game of both sets and although Williams broke straight back in the second set, her game was so inconsistent and occasionally wild that the thought of a spectacle quickly vanished.
The match was like watching a large balloon slowly deflating and although Williams believed her game was ugly, the statistics were not too unkind. She was essentially mucking up on the wrong points.
Her first serve was much more consistent than that of Henin's and her unforced error count was just marginally worse, 20 to 17, and over all Williams won just nine points less than her opponent. Henin earned two set points in the first and in her flawless way, took the second to win it 6-4. The second set then went even faster and in 37 minutes Williams was gone, Henin needing only one set point in the subdued arena to grab the match and a place in the semi-final.
"She didn't look very aggressive," observed the Belgian top seed. "I was mentally and emotionally under control today. It's been a very correct match. So I think we were both happy about that."
Henin will now meet Jelena Jankovic in one semi-final with Maria Sharapova facing Ana Ivanovic in the other.
It is the first time two Serbian players, Jankovic and Ivanovic, have ever reached the semi-final stages of a Grand Slam.
The fourth seeded Jankovic took just two sets to expel the Czech Republic's Nicole Vaidisova from the draw but not without finding some difficulty closing out the match, especially with a second serve that is a weakness. But once again the 22-year-old's fluid movement around court served her well with her scrambling defensive play easily the best on show at Roland Garros.
While Vaidisova generated some of the biggest groundstrokes, her leggy build, which is similar to that of Maria Sharapova, occasionally faltered on the turn.
Jankovic broke serve in the sixth game to lead 4-2, then held serve to take the first set 6-3 in 33 minutes. While Vaidisova, overall, hit 37 winners, most of them off her big forehand, to Jankovic's 17, she also heaped up the mistakes.
Her unforced error count tipped 38 with the more controlled Jankovic keeping hers to 15.
Still in the second set Jankovic worked her way to 5-3 and was poised to serve for the match when Vaidisova broke her in a final flourish of resistance.
Unperturbed Jankovic broke straight back before serving out 7-5 for the match and her first French Open semi-final.
Sharapova had much less trouble with Russian compatriot Anna Chakvetadze than she did in her anxiety-filled fourth-round match against Patti Schnyder. The second seed won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, to set up the meeting with the hard-hitting Ivanovic.
The 19-year-old, Ivanovic, who resides in Switzerland, upset the seeding in a three-set win over third-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova. That's Henin, two "Ovas" and a "Vic" in the last four.
A sign of the times, no doubt.
