Entering today, Venus and Serena Williams were a combined 20-0 in fourth-round matches at Wimbledon. After this particular Manic Monday, the legendary sisters are 20-2. Taking Centre Court just minutes after Serena had lost to Marion Bartoli, Venus Williams was confronted with the woman who seems determined to make herself Venus’ personal bête noire. Tsvetana Pironkova, the 32nd seed, beat the five-time champion for the second straight Wimbledon, 6-2, 6-3.
It could have been a case of revenge best served with strawberries and cream. Instead it’s more like lightning striking twice. Pironkova, a semifinalist here last year after beating Venus in the quarterfinal, had won just nine WTA matches between Wimbledon 2010 and Wimbledon 2011, but her victory over No. 2 seed Vera Zvonareva in the third round signaled her determination to defend her points. It’s not often that the player on the other side of the net looks more composed and serene than Venus Williams, but if Pironkova was nervous, she didn’t show it at any point in the match. Venus, on the other hand, started the match with a wild backhand error, a point that was to be repeated many times in the hour and fifteen minutes it took her to fall in defeat.
Pironkova’s unconventional forehand is rightly considered to be the weaker wing of her game, but it served her well in this match, as she hit a spectacular forehand passing shot by Venus to get to 30-30 on Williams’ serve at 2-3 in the first set. A double-fault from Williams gave the Bulgarian her first break point, and although it was saved, Pironkova showcased her brilliant defense and movement to eventually take the break. From that point on, Williams never recovered her equilibrium.
After a bushel of unforced errors in the third game of the second set and trailing by a break of serve, the five-time champion clearly decided to go all-out aggressive. The tactic worked briefly, getting her back on serve as she repeatedly worked her way into the net, but the game at 2-3 summed up the match as a whole. With Pironkova on the run despite her excellent defense, Williams twice failed to put away a point, hitting back to her opponent; she then missed consecutive forehand swinging volleys long and wide to give up the break again. A rare Hawkeye challenge in the next game showed how rattled she was, but it availed her nothing, and Pironkova served out the match to defeat Venus twice in two years at Wimbledon—with an identical scoreline.
Williams will be disappointed with her uneven performance, but it should be remembered that she has done wonderfully to make it this far in the tournament after such a lack of match practice. As for Pironkova, she said in her post-match interview how much she loves it at Wimbledon. Once again, it shows.
—Hannah Wilks