NEW YORK -Unfairly, unbelievably, Serena Williams was robbed of a point by an umpire's mistake at the U.S. Open, just like her sister was at Wimbledon.
It happened in the opening game of the third set between Williams and Jennifer Capriati, who went on to win their Open quarterfinal match 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 last night.
I'm very angry and bitter right now. I felt cheated. Shall I go on? I just feel robbed
a composed Williams said, laughing a bit. At first I thought it was another Wimbledon conspiracy.
The match was tight and testy, the way it almost always has been during their 17 matches: contested calls, spiked rackets, some gamesmanship and strokes pounded with power. A lot of power.
Capriati played superbly, without a doubt, but what always will be remembered is the miscue by chair umpire Mariana Alves of Portugal. She awarded the point to Capriati after Williams hit a backhand that landed in and was ruled good by the line judge.
I don't need to see the replay. I know my shots. Not only was it in it wasn't even near the line
said Williams, who couldn't defend her 2002 Open title because of left knee surgery that forced her to miss eight months. But I'm not making excuses. I didn't lose because of that. I probably should have closed her out in the second set.
It was eerily reminiscent of Wimbledon, where Venus Williams lost in the second round after Karolina Sprem was mistakenly awarded an extra point in the final-set tiebreaker. Venus didn't argue at all, saying later she was confused; chair umpire Ted Watts was kicked out of the tournament.
Alves will not officiate another match during the Open, said tournament referee Brian Earley, who acknowledged the overrule by Alves was wrong.
I'd prefer she not umpire at my court anymore
Serena Williams said. She's obviously anti-Serena.
Williams wound up losing that pivotal game, and though she did break right back, she was broken again to 2-1 and never recovered. TV replays also appeared to show at least two other incorrect calls that went against Williams in the final game, when Capriati needed three match points to serve it out.
I didn't even
like
look at it. It was close. I was just going to what the umpire said
Capriati told the crowd afterward, drawing some boos and murmurs.
Believe me
I've had things go against me many times
plenty of times. I deserve to get a call once in a while.
In the semifinals, the eighth-seeded Capriati will face No. 6 Elena Dementieva, who outlasted No. 2 Amelie Mauresmo 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1) in a match marred by 24 double-faults, 82 unforced errors, 36 break points, and 14 service breaks. Mauresmo would have clinched the No. 1 ranking if she had won.
After all the theater of Capriati-Williams, defending men's champion Andy Roddick assembled a matter-of-fact 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 18 Tommy Robredo to reach the quarterfinals. Roddick's next foe is No. 28 Joachim Johansson, who beat Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
In 2001, Open winner Lleyton Hewitt beat Karol Beck 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 for his 14th consecutive win, and Tommy Haas beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (6), 6-1, 7-5, erasing three set points in the tiebreaker.
I'm playing pretty solid tennis
day in
