Serena Williams Limps to Defeat

A limping Serena Williams often found herself out of position and forced to hit awkward shots. Between points she grimaced, hopped or bent over in pain. She iced her left thigh during changeovers and twice received treatment from a trainer.

But Williams kept playing, because she knew she had no choice. Quitting her quarterfinal match Wednesday against Jennifer Capriati at the Ericsson Open was not an option.

Her sore thigh and some stinging forehands from Capriati spoiled a potential final Saturday between the Williams sisters. The fourth-seeded Capriati won 6-1, 7-6 (5) and advanced to today’s semifinals.

The Williams siblings were supposed to play in the Indian Wells semifinal March 15, but Venus pulled out because of knee tendinitis, prompting speculation she ducked the match. The crowd booed the family, and the sisters’ father, Richard, alleged the jeers were racially motivated.

“We got some bad press for that,” Serena Williams said, “so I decided to go all out.”

In a strange twist, second-seeded Lindsay Davenport retired because of a bone bruise in her right knee several hours later while trailing seventh-seeded Elena Dementieva, 6-3, 1-0, in the last women’s quarterfinal. Davenport suffered the injury earlier in the tournament.

“It was really hurting a lot out there,” Davenport said. “You can’t win at this level when you’re not 100%.”

Dementieva will play Capriati today on Capriati’s 25th birthday, and third-seeded Venus Williams will renew her rivalry with top-seeded Martina Hingis.

“I don’t like playing Lindsay, and I don’t necessarily like playing Serena. I always have an easier time playing Venus,” Hingis said. “She gets tighter than the other two girls. She’s more emotional on the court. She tends to double-fault and miss the easy ones.”

Injury also played a role in the elimination of Andy Roddick, whose breakthrough run at Key Biscayne ended with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to seventh-seeded Lleyton Hewitt. Roddick played with a sore hand caused by fatigue from playing so much recently.

The 18-year-old can look back on consecutive victories over former No. 1 players Pete Sampras and Marcelo Rios, and he can look forward to cracking the top 100 for the first time next week.

“It’s been a great week,” he said. “I’m very happy.”

Hewitt’s opponent in the semifinals Friday will be Jan-Michael Gambill, who survived a match point in the second set to beat Gaston Gaudio, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Gambill has overcome five match points in the tournament.

Serena Williams’ gimpy but gallant performance left little room for debate regarding the legitimacy of her injury, even though it wasn’t previously disclosed. The WTA Tour confirmed she has been receiving daily treatment since straining her thigh en route to the Indian Wells title.

“I have just been going on like a soldier,” Williams said. The injury has been getting progressively worse, she said, but she expects to be fine with a few days’ rest.

Williams started poorly, but her injury didn’t become evident until the opening game of the second set, when she pulled up limping after a point. She called for a trainer during the changeover leading 2-1 and again at 5-4. Capriati tried not to notice.

“She still came out playing some great points,” Capriati said.

There were no jeers for Williams, but the crowd was firmly behind Capriati, a native Floridian, reigning Australian Open champion and sympathetic figure because of her teen-age travails.

Early in the second set, the stadium erupted in cheers when Capriati chased a ball into the corner and lunged to smack a forehand winner down the line. The scrambling save left her standing next to Richard Williams, seated in the front row, and even he grinned at the shot.

“She was playing very well,” said Serena Williams, seeded fifth. “Sometimes it’s kind of hard to play someone who is on the other end limping and grimacing, but she handled it very well.”

Only some shaky serving by Capriati kept the second set close. She had to overcome two set points at 4-5 and another at 5-6. On match point Williams hit a weak second serve, and Capriati pounced with a thunderous forehand return to close out the victory.

“I am just very determined,” she said. “It is just a real belief in myself.”