It's Blunder Down Under for Williams

By Lisa Dillman

Jan. 16, 2006 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

MELBOURNE, Australia —

So, what exactly is a Tszvetana Pironkova?

One hint: The Bulgarian teenager is in the second round of the Australian Open. And Venus Williams is not.

The 18-year-old Pironkova, appearing in her first Grand Slam, turned in one of the biggest first-round upsets in Australian Open history, defeating 10th-seeded Venus Williams, 2-6, 6-0, 9-7, today in 2 hours 28 minutes. The upset was somewhat comparable to one in 2003 when two-time champion and No. 3-ranked Jennifer Capriati lost in the first round to 90th-ranked Marlene Weingartner of Germany.

One other top player on the women’s side exited on Day 1: Julia Schruff of Germany defeated No. 9 Elena Dementieva of Russia, 7-5, 6-2. Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport of Laguna Beach had little difficulty against wild card Casey Dellacqua of Australia, winning, 6-2, 6-1, in 57 minutes. On the men’s side, No. 4 David Nalbandian of Argentina survived a five-setter, beating qualifier Danai Udomchoke of Thailand, 6-2, 6-2, 1-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1, in 3 hours 31 minutes.

But Williams’ shocking departure resonated through Melbourne Park. For Williams, it is the first time in eight trips to Melbourne she has lost in the opening round, and the third time it has happened to her at a Grand Slam. The others were at the French Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 1997.

Her opponent, ranked 94th, remained remarkably composed in the latter stages and thrust her arms in the air when Williams netted a backhand on match point. But another missed shot will greatly haunt Williams for some time to come.

It was the second-to-last point, at 30-30 of the 16th game of the third set. Williams rushed forward to take advantage of Pironkova’s short service return and blasted the inviting sitter right into the net. That set up match point and even Venus’ coach and mother, Oracene, mustered a wry smile.

Williams’ once formidable serve was a shadow of itself. She had one ace and double faulted four times. But another number was more responsible for the unsightly unraveling: 65 unforced errors. Pironkova kept running down Williams’ shots and even managed to hit a couple of sensational winners when she was pulled wide.

“I had so many unforced errors, I just was struggling to keep the ball in today,” Williams said. “Just couldn’t get it right. Obviously, she benefited from my largesse. If I had just a third less errors or 10 less errors, I think this match is a different story. Obviously she’s a very good player and she stuck in there.”

Williams had rallied from a 3-5 third-set deficit, and the Bulgarian was two points from winning, serving at 5-3, 30-30. But Williams escaped, picked up momentum and managed to serve for the match at 6-5. There was yet another twist, and she was broken at 30, hitting a forehand long.

Australia has always been a difficult venue for Williams. She lost to her sister Serena in the 2003 final and has gone as far as the semifinals only one other time.

“This tournament’s always a little tricky to get ready for because there’s less time usually,” she said. “... I usually do a lot better in March.”

Of course, not playing an official match on the tour since September doesn’t exactly provide a good foundation. In the not-so-distant past, the Williams sisters could show up with scant preparation and glide through the first few rounds.

Now the tour is full of hard-hitting, unafraid youngsters -- even if their names take some getting used to, as one media-room attendant announced Pironkova’s name as “Svetlana.”

This time, Williams didn’t have the excuse of unfamiliarity. She beat Pironkova, 6-1, 6-3, last year in a semifinal at Istanbul, Turkey, on clay.

“I lost badly then,” Pironkova said. “I think that helped me to play better today ‘cause I kind of know a little bit of her game. And that’s almost everything.”

Venus was not nearly as upset as she was last year when she lost to Alicia Molik in the fourth round. There was one testy moment today. Williams was asked: Why should we believe that you’ll be back to where you were?

“Well, I think at the end of the day, I don’t care if you believe or anyone believes in here, because it’s me,” she said. “So believe what you want to. There’s always going to be naysayers. You may be one of them. I don’t know. Guess what? I don’t care.”

Jelena Dokic’s “Australian” homecoming didn’t have quite the ideal finish. Dokic, who had represented Serbia for five years, returned in Australia in December and had been accepted here, for the most part, despite her controversial departure.

In the first round, Virginie Razzano of France defeated Dokic, 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1.

“I would have to say one of the most disappointing losses probably in my career so far,” Dokic said. “It was difficult.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

First-day winners

Seeded winners today at the Australian Open:

MEN, FIRST ROUND

* Gaston Gaudio (8), Argentina

* Robby Ginepri (13)

* Radek Stepanek (17), Czech Republic

* David Ferrer (11), Spain

* Jarkko Nieminen (26), Finland

* David Nalbandian (4), Argentina