Fri May 30 07:42:53 2008

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Serena eliminated at French Open

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Paris, France (Sports Network) - Serena Williams, the only former champion in the women's draw at the French Open, was eliminated in third-round play Friday at Roland Garros.

Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik, the 27th seed, pulled off the 6-4, 6-4 triumph, sending the fifth-seeded American home. Williams captured the 2002 French Open crown and had reached at least the quarterfinals in her three subsequent appearances in Paris.

The third-round ouster marked the earliest Grand Slam defeat for the eight- time major champion since a third-round setback at the 2006 Australian Open. She last won a Grand Slam title at the 2007 Australian Open and has advanced only as far as the quarterfinals in each of her last four Grand Slam events.

Other early winners on Friday included second-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic and 25th-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova.

Ivanovic, last year's French Open runner-up to the now-retired Justine Henin, posted a 6-4, 6-1 third-round victory over Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, while Petrova notched a 6-3, 6-3 second-round triumph over fellow Russian Alisa Kleybanova.