Before She Realizes It, Williams in Losing Battle

Dynasty delayed?

The expected teen takeover of the women’s tour by the Williams sisters hit an unexpected development Sunday at the French Open. Fifth-seeded Venus Williams was not supposed to lose to qualifier Barbara Schwartz of Austria in the fourth round, and certainly not after holding three match points.

Yet the unthinkable happened. The 125th-ranked Schwartz defeated Williams, 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3, handing Williams her earliest Grand Slam loss since she went out in the first round at Wimbledon in 1997.

Earlier in the tournament, Serena Williams failed to win a game in the third set against Mary Joe Fernandez and went out in the third round. At least Fernandez was a recognizable player, reaching the final here before.

Few knew much about the 20-year-old Schwartz, a hard-hitting left-hander with a powerful one-handed backhand, who has struggled with injuries. Among those unfamiliar with the Austrian was Williams, who admitted she had never seen Schwartz before and failed to scout her beforehand.

“It’s a possibility,” said Williams, as to whether it would have helped. “But it didn’t happen. What else can I say? I didn’t really know who exactly I was playing. I didn’t watch the draw so much, so I really didn’t know.

“I mean, what’s the difference? You go out there, you compete. You play the ball, you play the point. I have to be prepared with my game.”

Much was made of the shortcoming in scouting, but it certainly had nothing to do with Williams squandering the match points in the second set in the 12th game, with Schwartz serving to stay alive.

Williams went up 0-40, but Schwartz fought off three match points by forcing a backhand error from Williams, hitting a backhand winner and pulling to deuce with a service winner. She then won the next two points to force the tiebreaker.

“I wasn’t thinking there were three match points against me,” Schwartz said. “I just thought, ‘I’m still in the match and I have the chance.’ I just have to go for it.”

In the third set, she kept her composure after Williams rallied from a 1-3 deficit to pull to 3-3. In the seventh game, Schwartz escaped more trouble on break point when Williams netted a relatively easy backhand off a short ball.

Williams, 18, had been considered one of the favorites after winning 21 of her previous 22 matches and two clay-court tournaments. Instead, Schwartz moved on to the quarterfinals, where she will play top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland. The Austrian was asked if she was capable of a repeat performance.

“I’m not sure because today it was my seventh match,” she said, speaking of playing qualifying matches before the first four rounds. “It was just a great match. The crowd was unbelievable. I enjoyed playing and I was fighting until the end. The next match I will try again and I will fight again. For the moment, it’s perfect.”

Sunday was an impressive day for the Austrian women. The other upset came when Sylvia Plischke defeated fourth-seeded Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). Novotna said she was suffering from back problems after she slipped on the clay court. Plischke will play seventh-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain next. Sanchez-Vicario won her match without having to hit a ball when Fernandez withdrew because of an injured right thigh, suffered in a doubles match Saturday.

Also advancing were second-seeded Lindsay Davenport of Newport Beach, third-seeded Monica Seles, sixth-seeded Steffi Graf of Germany and Conchita Martinez of Spain. Davenport defeated a resurgent Jennifer Capriati, 6-2, 6-3, and picked up her level after struggling in the previous two rounds.

“I’ve been playing the girls that hit a lot of spin,” said Davenport, who plays Graf in the quarterfinals. “It was nice to play someone who gave me a lot of pace.”

Capriati was encouraged despite the loss.

“This is just like a starting point for me,” she said. “I came a long way in the last month. I never would have thought I would be at this point in a million years.”

FRENCH OPEN

Agassi Knocks Out Champion: Andre Agassi rallied to eliminate defending French Open champion Carlos Moya in four sets. Page 6

USA THIN

Americans left in the men’s and women’s singles draw at the French Open:

MEN: Andre Agassi

WOMEN: Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles