It’s Another Unforced Exit for Williams at a Grand Slam

After a few more dismal showings in Grand Slam events ... well, maybe even now ... the former No. 1 women’s tennis player will face this question:

Didn’t you used to be Venus Williams?

Williams hasn’t been close to her prime in years, and her loss Friday in the third round of the French Open to a 15-year-old ranked barely inside the top 100 had her looking the picture of abject failure.

Williams, seeded 11th, hit seven double faults and committed 52 unforced errors in losing, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, to an exuberant Sesil Karatantcheva of Bulgaria, who dropped to the court after match point and later threw kisses and bowed to the crowd.

With clay on her knees, Karatantcheva looked like a kid who had been playing outside in the park when she shook hands with Williams at the net.

Williams, 24, has advanced past the fourth round only once in her last six Grand Slam events, reaching the quarterfinals here last year. And the loss to No. 98 Karatantcheva was her worst in terms of ranking since one to No. 125 Barbara Schwartz in the fourth round here in 1999.

Often, Williams says she beats herself, and that perception was accurate as her game veered wildly off course after getting on track in the second set. But that was about it for self-perception. Williams, as usual, refused to acknowledge the need for fundamental change, whether it be a coaching move or simply coming off the baseline.

“I think that I’ll continue on my path,” she said.

That path has led to no Grand Slam singles titles since the 2001 U.S. Open. Last week Williams earned her first title in more than a year, winning a small event in Istanbul, Turkey. But the players she defeated there had a combined average ranking of 109.

One thing that helped the Bulgarian youngster was that she came into the match preparing for the Williams of 2001, not the floundering, forehand-challenged 2005 model.

“Venus Williams, it is Venus Williams,” Karatantcheva said. “I personally always remember her in the best years. I had to make a plan for my game, it’s always in my head, the Venus Williams I saw, the Grand Slams I saw her win.”

The edge is off the brashness she showed last year at Indian Wells in declaring she would “kick off” the rear end of Maria Sharapova. But Karatantcheva had journalists chuckling in the news conference when she walked in with a couple of plastic bags of laundry, and regaled the gathering with stories of learning English by listening to the Spice Girls and her current inexplicable love of the ‘70s rock group Queen.

She also explained what happened in the second set.

“I kind of start thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’m up a set against Venus Williams. You know, something is wrong. Something must be wrong,’ ” Karatantcheva said.

Williams’ loss means that two Americans remain here. Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport on Friday advanced to the fourth round, barely getting by Virginie Razzano of France, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. Marissa Irvin of Santa Monica will play her third-round match today.

In the men’s tournament, the highly anticipated third-round match between 18-year-olds Rafael Nadal of Spain and Richard Gasquet of France didn’t meet the hype. Nadal won, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, as Gasquet wore down in the heat.

Nadal, seeded fourth, was pleased with his high level of play and how he dealt with the pressure of such a hyped match.

“We have lots of players -- [Roger] Federer, [Guillermo] Coria, [Lleyton] Hewitt, not only this one, no?” Nadal said of himself and Gasquet. “... We not only have Gasquet and me.”

Said Gasquet: “We are the same age and I feel like a junior player and he’s like a senior player. He is there 100% physically, which is not my case. I am not ready for such a situation.”

Federer also needed only three sets, defeating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, 7-6 (9), 7-5, 6-2, after saving two set points in the first.

It was an excellent day to be efficient, considering the soaring temperatures.

Davenport had no such luck in her 2-hour 29-minute match. She struggled early, falling behind, 4-0, and Razzano had a chance to take a 5-0 first-set lead. Somehow, Davenport kept at it, hitting enough winners and taking advantage of Razzano’s nerves. The players combined for 25 double faults, Razzano having 15.

Davenport simply closed better from 4-4 in the third, losing just three points in the last two games. She had to shake her head, saying that still being in the tournament gave her “a laugh.” Erratic, she said, was the best way to describe her first three rounds.

“I’m pretty ecstatic,” said Davenport, who plays Kim Clijsters in the next round. “I’m in the round of 16, considering the first set I played on Monday, considering the lapses, I’ve gone in and out. I feel like that’s a really big accomplishment. I know that sounds funny to hear -- but given where I’ve been this week ... maybe now that some of the pressure is off, I play such a great player, it’ll start to click and be a little easier out there.”