Tennis: Hantuchova knocks Serena out of Open

MELBOURNE - Defending champion Serena Williams was knocked out of the third round of the Australian Open tennis tournament last night by Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova 6-1 7-6.

Hantuchova raced through the first set in 31 minutes then regained her composure after Williams saved three match points to force the second set into a tiebreak.

Williams, who had staged a series of miraculous comebacks to win last year's Australian Open, threatened another when she led 4-3 in the tiebreak but Hantuchova held her nerve to clinch it 7-5.

"I just made a lot of errors today," Williams told reporters. "I just couldn't find my shots at all.

"Everything I was trying just wasn't working. It was just one of those days."

Hantuchova will play Russia's Maria Sharapova in the fourth round after the fourth seed beat Croatia's Jelena Kostanic 6-0 6-1.

"I always believed in myself," Hantuchova said in a courtside interview.

"I guess the way to get there is to keep working hard and fight all the way.

"I'm really looking forward to the match (against Sharapova), I've got nothing to lose."

Williams arrived in Australia facing questions about her fitness and lack of match practice and the scrutiny only intensified after her sister Venus lost in the first round to Tsvetana Pironkova.

Williams also struggled in her opening match against China's Li Na but showed some improvement in her second round win over Camille Pin.

She began confidently enough against Hantuchova, winning her opening service game, but failed to hold serve again in the first set as she struggled to keep pace with her opponent.

The Slovakian broke for the first time when Williams volleyed long then held her own serve to lead 3-1 when it began to rain and the match was halted so the roof could be closed.

When they came back, Hantuchova grabbed a vital second break when Williams hit a backhand return long before taking the first set with another break off a crunching forehand winner.

Williams, who saved three match points in last year's semi-final win over Sharapova en route to winning the title, once again demonstrated her fighting qualities in the hour-long second set.

She grabbed a 4-2 lead after Hantuchova produced two double-faults and the American capitalised by breaking her in the fifth game with a shot from the back of the court that clipped the top of the net.

Hantuchova broke back in the eighth game, however, when Williams netted a backhand and seemed poised for victory when the defending champion faced three match points on her own service game.

She saved all three, the third with a 179 km/h ace, then forced the tiebreak with a forehand winner, but a series of unforced errors that ended with an errant return handed victory to Hantuchova.

- REUTERS