Mauresmo Beats Nemesis S. Williams

Mauresmo Beats Nemesis S. Williams

Amelie Mauresmo of France returns a shot during her match at the US Open tennis tournament in New York, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2006. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun) (Bill Kostroun - AP)

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y., Sept. 4 -- For a 23-minute spell during Monday's featured match at the U.S. Open, top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo and former champion Serena Williams reverted to their form of old, to the dismay of the former and the delight of the latter.

It happened in the second set of their fourth-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Mauresmo suddenly lost her nerve and bearing, and Williams started scorching the court with outright winners, brandishing the swagger befitting a seven-time Grand Slam champion.

But times have changed atop the hierarchy of women's tennis. Mauresmo is no longer the sport's most gifted choker, and Williams is no longer its most dominant player. And their first meeting in 18 months bore that out, with Mauresmo shaking off her second-set collapse to prevail, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.

With the victory, Mauresmo advances to the quarterfinals and nudges her undistinguished career record against Williams to 2-9.

Monday's result should have been encouraging to both.

In snapping out of her lapse, Mauresmo proved once again that she has conquered the demons that for so many years kept her from winning major titles. She made her first major breakthrough in February, winning the Australian Open, then added her first Wimbledon title in July.

"It happens," Mauresmo said with newfound confidence, referring to her second-set shutout. "I'm happy I was able to focus back into the match."

For Williams, there was no shame in losing a close match to the reigning No. 1 player. Williams, of course, held that status not along ago, claiming the first of her major titles, the 1999 U.S. Open, on this very court.

But her ranking plummeted this year after she sat out six months with a sore left knee. Now 91st, the two-time U.S. Open champion needed a wild card just to enter the tournament. As a result, she was unseeded and faced a difficult draw.

Looking more fit and hungry than she had in months, Williams breezed through her first three matches without dropping a set. Mauresmo, however, proved a more formidable measuring stick.

After splitting sets, Mauresmo and Williams held serve early in the third set. The turning point came in a spectacular 35-shot rally in the sixth game, with Williams serving at 2-3. It ended with Williams netting a backhand. Her game, and her spirit, disintegrated from there.

"It just fell apart after that," Williams said. "I just wasn't able to put balls away as much."