Venus not rising

No. 2 seed bounced by Nadia Petrova

Associated Press

PARIS

Venus Williams’ celebrated corset went under wraps Sunday, and now it’s out of the French Open.

Playing with a long-sleeve top over her black lace outfit on a chilly afternoon, Williams lost in the fourth round to Nadia Petrova, 6-4, 6-3.

Williams came into the tournament seeded No. 2 behind her sister Serena, but Petrova spoiled the possibility of a sibling showdown in the final.

“I’m obviously disappointed,” Williams said. “I feel like I had a day where I wanted to hit the ball cross-court and it went down the line. It just wasn’t a good day.”

Petrova has been a nemesis for the Williams family lately — she beat Serena in the third round at Madrid less than three weeks ago.

“Today’s match was just about going out there and performing my best,” Petrova said. “I was mentally focused, and I kept my nerves calm.”

Justine Henin rallied in a winner-take-all set that seemed like a final, outslugging Maria Sharapova 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. The two former No. 1s returned to center court following an overnight suspension of the third-round showdown after two sets.

Joining Petrova in the quarterfinals were No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 5 Elena Dementieva and No. 17 Francesca Schiavone.

Petrova controlled rallies with steady play from the baseline and finished strong, a problem for her in the past. The Russian swept the final four games and wobbled only once, shanking an overhead when leading love-30 in the final game.

She collected herself and won the final two points, closing out the match with an emphatic forehand winner.

“I don’t think she did anything super special, but I think she just played a little bit more consistently,” Williams said. “The conditions aren’t that easy with the rain and the wind.”

Williams converted only one of seven break-point chances. In the second set she lost serve three times after taking a 2-love lead.

Serena Williams wore her playing outfit while watching her sister’s defeat from the stands. They later teamed up in a third-round doubles match, beating Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 6-1, 6-2.

Petrova, seeded 19th, is a two-time semifinalist, but is into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2005. The victory was her first against Venus in five meetings.

Williams came into the tournament with the best record this year on the women’s tour, but tricky footing has always made clay her worst surface. In 14 French Open appearances, she reached the semifinals only once — in 2002, when she lost to her sister in the final. She has advanced beyond the fourth round just once in the past six years.

Henin and Sharapova played the seesaw final set after the match was suspended late Saturday because of darkness. The pivotal moment came when Henin fell behind 0-2, love-40, then overcame four break points to hold.

She soon led 4-2, broke to go ahead 5-3 and served out the victory.

“I kept my chances to win this tournament,” said the four-time champion, playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2007. “I will give my best and enjoy it. It was a really good test.”

The victory extended Henin’s winning streak at Roland Garros to 24 matches. Henin next plays No. 7 Sam Stosur.