Defending champ upset by Petrova
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-08 05:44

Justine Henin-Hardenne lost her US Open title and her No 1 ranking on Monday night.

The defending champion was upset by Nadia Petrova 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth round, the earliest exit by the Open's top-seeded woman since Billie Jean King quit because of illness during her third-round match in 1973.

"I never felt good in this tournament. I never felt free in my head. I never felt 100 per cent in the court," Henin-Hardenne said. "It wasn't my day. and she played well. She took the opportunities, and it was hard for me."

The Belgian was hurt by what's normally her most consistent and dangerous shot: her one-handed backhand. She missed three crucial shots on that side: on the final point of the first set, and on the last point of each of the two games when Petrova broke her in the second set, to 2-1 and to 5-2.

She finished with 30 unforced errors and just 14 winners - a mere three with her backhand. The 14th-seeded Petrova, meanwhile, played the attack and won the point on 19 of 28 trips to the net.

On the men's side, a big-name showdown is looming in the quarterfinals: Andre Agassi vs Roger Federer. Agassi advanced on Monday with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over pal and occasional practice partner Sargis Sargsian, who was on court for nearly 10 hours in his previous two outings. This one taking 90 minutes.

Federer's opponent, No 16 Andrei Pavel, pulled out with a bad back.

"There's nothing more you ask for than to play a big event against the best player in this environment," Agassi said. "It's time to bring on the best tennis."

With her upset victory, Petrova moved into her second major quarterfinal, where she will meet another Russian, No 9 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Two other Russian women won the last two Slams: Anastasia Myskina at the French Open and Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon.

"At the moment, Russian tennis is doing so well. We're all so young," Petrova said.

At 22 she has yet to win a tour title. Kuznetsova, who beat Mary Pierce 7-6 (5), 6-2 Monday, is 19 and owns three titles.

"I know her, she's a good friend of mine," Petrova said. "It'll be a good opportunity for one of us to make the semi-finals."

Also in the quarterfinals is Lindsay Davenport, who pulled out a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Venus Williams.

Seven major titles and 49 weeks at No 1 between them, Davenport and Williams swapped powerful strokes and anxious moments in a final act encompassing 24 points over 13 minutes Monday. Nine deuces. Five break points for 2000-01 Open champion Williams. Five match points for 1998 Open champ Davenport.

"A tough one to get through," said Davenport, who faces 62nd-ranked Shinobu Asagoe for a semifinal berth. "I wanted to win so badly, and I played such a great, calm match until that point, and then let a few errors creep in."

She and Amelie Mauresmo both have a chance to replace Henin-Hardenne at No 1, because of the Belgian's 6-3, 6-2 loss to No 14 Petrova.

Henin-Hardenne missed most of the past five months with a viral illness. She was out about six weeks, then played at the French Open and lost in the second round, matching the quickest exit by that tournament's defending champion.

After nearly another three months off, she came back at the Olympics and won the gold medal.

"For sure, I'm still not at my best level physically. During the whole tournament, I was feeling less energy," Henin-Hardenne said. "I never felt powerful and strong like I did in the past."

Because Federer's match was cancelled, Martina Navratilova's mixed doubles quarterfinal against Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova was shifted to Arthur Ashe Stadium. Navratilova, into the doubles quarters with Lisa Raymond, paired with Leander Paes to defeat Sharapova and Max Mirnyi 6-4, 6-4.

Asagoe upset No 29 Eleni Daniilidou 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3, making her the lowest-ranked Open quarterfinalist since Williams was 66th in her 1997 debut.

How long ago that seems.

Now Williams needs to recapture the drive that carried her to four Slam titles, but none since 2001. She had quick exits at the Australian Open (third round), French Open (quarterfinals) and Wimbledon (second round) this year. She missed the second half of last season, including the Open, with a torn abdominal muscle, and had to deal with the shooting death of half-sister Yetunde in September 2003.

"I'm really disappointed (about) all this year's Grand Slams. But I've learned that the position that I'm in is not necessarily my fault," Williams said. "I can't be hard on myself."

She raised her play in a fantastic final game, with Davenport serving at 5-4. Williams also raised the volume, grunting louder and louder with each shot, a sharp contrast to Davenport's soft exhales. Davenport played impeccably, never facing a break point and trailing on her serve just once: at love-15 in the second set's fourth game.

Davenport broke Williams for a 6-5 lead in the first set, and 3-2 in the second. In the final game, they went back and forth, with Williams swatting two winners to get her first break point, wasted with a forehand return long. On the first match point, a 12-stroke exchange ended with Williams' forehand winner. Davenport ceded her second match point by double-faulting.

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