Just when it looked as if the bottom half of the French Open draw had completely opened up for Serena Willliams, the door was slammed firmly shut yesterday in her attempt to claim a record-equalling 24th grand-slam title. The American veteran was outdone in the round of 16 by the raw power of Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina as yet another shot at history slipped by. Williams, seeded No 7, had started the match as the only top-20 player and former grand-slam semi-finalist in her section after a string of shock results in the women’s singles. Seventy-seven minutes later, she was gone too after losing 6-3, 7-5 to the No 21 seed Rybakina, a talented 21-year-old who packs a punch with her clean groundstrokes. SponsoredIn truth, Williams

Source: The Times June 06, 2021 19:14 UTC