Petrova ousts Serena in three sets; Venus wins in Madrid

World No.1 Serena Williams wasn't able to follow in her big sister's footsteps at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open on Wednesday, losing to Nadia Petrova in the third round of the Premier-level stop.

Williams, the top seed, broke Petrova in the penultimate game of the first set and served a love game to take that set, 6-4; Petrova's 1-1 service game in the second set would be a turning point, however, as it went to an 10 deuces.

Petrova, the No.16 seed but having an impressive season on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and perhaps playing better than that number, was in command of the match upon winning that pivotal point. Including that 1-1 game she won 11 of the last 15 games to prevail, 46 62 63, her second straight win over Williams. She beat her in Beijing last fall. Highlights: Petrova vs. S.Williams

"I have a doubles match tomorrow. I hope to win that and be in Madrid a little longer," Williams said. "I also live part-time in Paris, so I'll go back there too."

Read more about the rest of Wednesday's matches right here!

Petrova out-aced Williams, 11-2. Going into the match they both had 120 aces on the year, most among anyone on the Tour; now Petrova sneaks ahead.

This was Petrova's third career win over a No.1, having beaten Justine Henin at the 2004 US Open and Amélie Mauresmo at the 2006 Tour Championships.

With Venus Williams winning her match earlier in the day, the Williams sisters will be No.1 and No.2 when the new rankings come out Monday. It will be the first time the sisters hold the Top 2 spots in over seven years.

"We can definitely celebrate. It's a great feat to be back at No.1 and No.2 in the world," Serena Williams said. "It's amazing. It's a moment we'll always have."


Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Singles - Third Round
(16) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. (1) Serena Williams (USA) 46 62 63
(4) Venus Williams (USA) d. (15) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 36 61 62

Singles - Second Round
(7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (WC) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 46 64 61
(WC) Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) d. (WC) Peng Shuai (CHN) 16 76(1) 63