Williams sisters, Wozniacki out at Wimbledon

• Reprints

Serena Williams reacts after losing a set to French player Marion Bartoli during the women's single at the Wimbledon. | Getty Images

Article Extras

Updated: June 30, 2011 9:50AM

WIMBLEDON, England — Walking away from Centre Court, Oracene Price — the mother of Venus and Serena Williams — shook her head after watching one daughter lose at Wimbledon, then the other.

As undeniably great as she is, Serena found it too tough to make a deep run at her first Grand Slam tournament in a year after a series of health scares, including two foot surgeries and blood clots in her lungs. And as successful as Venus has been at the All England Club, even she couldn’t muster her best after missing nearly five months with a hip injury.

‘‘I don’t think their layoffs helped their rhythm,’’ Price said. ‘‘They both seemed to be making the same kinds of mistakes. They were hit-and-miss, here and there.’’

They’re both headed home after
straight-set exits to less accomplished opponents in the fourth round Monday. First, seventh-
seeded Serena lost 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) to ninth-seeded Marion Bartoli on Court 1. Later, 23rd-seeded Venus was beaten 6-2, 6-3 by 32nd-seeded Tsvetana Pironkova before a Centre Court crowd that included Prince William and wife Kate Middleton.

‘‘Definitely not our best day,’’ said Venus, who has won Wimbledon five times. ‘‘I think we both envisioned seeing this day going a little bit
different.’’

And why shouldn’t they have? After all, Venus and Serena had combined to win nine of the last 11 Wimbledon titles and had played each other in the final four times.

‘‘Well, I never came here thinking I would lose,’’ said Serena, who has won the tournament four times, including the last two years. ‘‘That’s my attitude.’’

It’s the first time since 2006 that neither Williams sister is in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Venus lost in the third round that year, and Serena skipped that tournament
because of an injured left knee. Of the 12 years that both were in the field, this is the first time neither one made it past the fourth round.

‘‘Obviously, it’s not something planned,’’ said Venus, who lost to Pironkova by the same score in the quarterfinals last year.

And the upsets didn’t stop with the Williams sisters. Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki went down, too, falling to 24th-seeded Dominika
Cibulkova 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5.

Fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka, fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova and eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova avoided the upset bug with straight-set victories that moved them into the quarterfinals.

Things weren’t quite as dramatic on the men’s side, although top-
seeded Rafael Nadal survived an
injury scare to his left foot in the first set to outlast 24th-seeded Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. Afterward, Nadal said he would have an MRI exam on the foot.

‘‘I’m worried, for sure,’’ he said.

Other men’s fourth-round winners included second-seeded Novak Djokovic, third-seeded Roger Fed-
erer, fourth-seeded Andy Murray and 10th-seeded Mardy Fish, who became the last U.S. player — man or woman — left in the tournament by upsetting sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4.

‘‘Last,’’ said Fish, who will try to beat Nadal for the first time in six career tries in the quarterfinals. ‘‘Not what you set out to do. It was, I guess, bad luck for the Williams sisters to lose. Unfortunate, I guess. They’ll be back, I’m sure.’’

AP