There will be a first-time grand slam champion at the French Open. And there’s a week left in the tournament to figure out which of the 12 women still around that will be.
Venus Williams was the last of the past major title winners in the draw, and she lost in the fourth round to 30th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky 5-7 6-2 6-1 on Sunday.
That happened less than an hour after defending champion Garbine Muguruza was beaten 6-1 3-6 6-3 by 13th-seeded Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic.
The only other two women with a grand slam trophy on their resumes who made it to the fourth round – Svetlana Kuznetsova and Australia’s Samantha Stosur – lost earlier Sunday to women without one.
Kuznetsova, who won the 2009 French Open and 2004 US Open, was ousted by two-time major finalist Caroline Wozniacki 6-1 4-6 6-2 while 2011 US Open champion Stosur was eliminated by 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 2-6 6-2 6-4 after struggling with a hand injury.
“My hand’s been sore for about three or four days, since the day I played doubles here,” Stosur told AAP.
“Don’t know what’s wrong with it. But from 5-1 in that first set, it was just really, really painful and just wasn’t going away.
Mladenovic will face Bacsinszky next, and Wozniacki meets Ostapenko. Plus, all eight women who play for quarter-final berths Monday are seeking a first major title.
Heading into this French Open, many figured the women’s draw was wide open, because of the absences of Williams’ sister, Serena, and Maria Sharapova.
This was Muguruza’s first attempt at defending a grand slam championship, and she ran into a determined Mladenovic, who was backed by a vocal crowd of countrymen who chanted her nickname, Kiki, throughout the match.
Mladenovic often played to the fans, waving her arms to ask for more noise. And as Muguruza walked to the locker room after her defeat, she wagged a finger toward the stands before bursting into tears during her post-match interview.
“I think the crowd today was a little bit obviously tough for me,” Muguruza said.
“I understand. I just think that they were a little bit, sometimes should be a little bit more respectful.”
The 24-year-old Mladenovic never had been past the third round at her home slam – and has never made it beyond the quarter-finals at any other.
“Everything wasn’t perfect. There were a few concerns,” Mladenovic said, before joking: “I made about 35 double-faults today, but everything’s OK!”
The last woman representing France to win the country’s grand slam tournament was Mary Pierce in 2000.
Mladenovic will have French company in the quarter-finals, with either Caroline Garcia or Alize Cornet to join her after their round of 16 match.
As for Venus, the elder Williams sister will have to target Wimbledon as she looks to end a grand slam drought that goes back to that event in 2008.
This was the second year in a row that Bacsinszky beat Williams in the fourth round in Paris.
Bacsinszky’s best result at a major tournament was reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2015.
