U.S. Open: Errani d. V. Williams

NEW YORK—Venus Williams went from zero to 6-0, continued to accelerate—and then spun out near the finish line. The 34-year-old crowd favorite was two points away from a comeback win over Sara Errani before reverting to her error-filled, first-set form in a 6-0, 0-6, 7-6 (5) third-round loss.

Any tennis match that begins with a bagel-filled palindrome is hard to explain, but this one is even more so: Williams was 3-0 lifetime against Errani and had lost a total of 12 games in those matches. In 26 desultory minutes, the No. 19 seed dropped a half-dozen more. She committed 18 unforced errors in the set and was unable to take advantage of Errani’s slight serve—problems that Williams would soon correct, but that would return at the most critical moments.

Those who chalked up this lopsided first-set loss to Williams’ well-documented physical issues, or even her late-afternoon doubles match yesterday, would be perplexed just 29 minutes later. The American turned the tables on Errani, using her forehand to both open up the court and terminate rallies. She also matched Errani's prowess in backhand-to-backhand rallies, and, perhaps most importantly, won easier points on serve and return. Errani struck seven unforced errors in each set, while Williams’ total dropped from 18 to eight. The drastic change in complexion was almost entirely due to Williams’ microwave-like ability to go from cold to hot.

The sizable crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium appeared to be getting the best from both players at, appropriately enough, 3-3 in the third set. Those six games featured four breaks of serve, but the improved overall quality had rendered the two previous sets a distant memory, an extended warm-up to the real match.

When Williams broke a pattern of breaks with a hold for 4-3, then returned to her breaking ways to earn a 5-3 lead, it appeared that her persistence and performance would pay off. But three pivotal forehand errors would shift this match’s tone from that of a feel-good story to a tense thriller. After double-faulting, Williams zoomed a forehand long to fall behind 30-40. While she would save the break point, she followed with a forehand into net, and then another one long to give Errani new life. An ugly return game from Williams made the set score 5-5.

In a way, the eventual tiebreaker served as an accurate representation of the match: Errani raced to a 5-2 lead, with four points won via Williams backhand errors, but dropped the next three. The last of those lost points came after an Errani second serve that must have been in the 50-M.P.H. range—it was so slow it didn’t register on the radar gun. Williams didn’t exactly punish it, but she clobbered an even worse drop shot from Errani that would have cleared a tennis net double its standard height.

The point of the match, though, went Errani’s way—this time with a winner, not a Williams error. She earned a 6-5 edge with an all-court effort that included staunch defense, expert counter-punching, and an aptly timed forehand that allowed her to come forward for a finishing set of volleys. And Errani earned the match, on its first and only match point, by wrong-footing Williams with a forehand. Williams may have given plenty away today—Errani is one of the worst players one can face when consistency is elusive—but the Italian seized the opportunity.