Russian Nadia Petrova brought Serena Williams' hopes of improving her Madrid tournament credentials to an abrupt end last night by beating the World No 1 in the third round.
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| Serena reacts after losing 6-4, 2-6, 3-6 to Nadia Petrova in Madrid yesterday |
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Top seed Williams, who pulled out of the clay court tournament in the first round on her debut last year, got off to a positive start before seeing the match go in Petrova's favour for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Older sister Venus will be confirmed as the number two player in women's tennis behind Serena when the WTA rankings are next published Monday, after she reached the Madrid quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Williams looked to be heading to certain victory after world number 18 Petrova had to have a long massage after losing the first set.
However the Russian re-emerged to take control of the next set and, as Williams failed to produce a challenge, the third set and the match.
Williams said: "I wasn't moving my fastest. I don't know. I definitely wasn't at my best."
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