Serena Williams had the chance to reclaim the number one ranking if she made it to the finals of the 2013 Australian Open. Unfortunately for Williams, she couldn't even make it to the semifinals.
Williams, who had hurt her ankle earlier in the tournament, was hobbled in her match against fellow American Sloane Stephens, falling 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday. The upset was the biggest at the tournament so far and gave Stephens the biggest victory of her young career.
"I was stretching, and I was like, 'I'm in the semis of a Grand Slam.' I was like, 'Whoa. It wasn't as hard as I thought.' But it's pretty cool," she said to the Associated Press. "To be in the semis of a Grand Slam is definitely I say a good accomplishment. A lot of hard work."
Williams has been on a tear lately, winning 20 straight matches stretching back to Aug. 17. This is the first time the 15-time Grand Slam winner has lost a major since the French Open, where she was defeat6ed in the first round. Following that loss, Williams streaked through the rest of the year, winning titles at Wimbledon, the London Olympics, the U.S. Open and the WTA Championship.
Williams had previously beaten Stephens in straight sets at the Brisbane International earlier this month, but it was clear the ankle was bothering Williams throughout the match. The 19-year-old Stephens is ranked 29th and said she never gave herself a chance to win the match.
"When I got up, I was like, 'Look, Dude, like, you can do this.' Like, 'Go out and play and do your best,' " she said.
Williams lost the first set and went up a break, but couldn't hold on as Stephens battled back.
"I was like, 'Hmm, this is not the way you want it to happen. But you just fight and just get every ball back, run every ball down, and just get a lot of balls in play, I think you'll be OK.' From then on I got aggressive, started coming to the net more, and just got a lot more comfortable," she said.
Williams and Stephens have a mentor-like relationship, making the match even tougher on both players. Williams crossed the net after the match to congratulate Stephens, who has looked up to the star since she was a child, keeping photos of her and her sister on the walls of her room.
"This is so crazy. Oh my goodness," Stephens said, wiping away tears in her post-match TV interview. "I think I'll put a poster of myself (up) now."
The injuries were just too much for Williams, who was also dealing with a bad back on top of her ankle, which she injured in the first round.
"I'm almost relieved that it's over because there's only so much I felt I could do," she said. "It's been a little difficult. I've been thrown a lot of (curve) balls these two weeks."
Williams was in good position after going up a set and a break in the second frame, but she needed a medial time out late in the second after which she said her back "just locked up" on her.
"I couldn't really rotate after that," she said. "It was a little painful, but it's OK."
It was easy to see the pain on Williams's face throughout the match, but she did not choose to retire and kept fighting on until the end. She said the idea of retiring crossed her mind "for a nanosecond."
Williams appeared frustrated in the match and smashed her racket onto the court during the third set after which she threw it towards the chairs on her side of the court. The racket abuse cost her $1,500 in fines.
Stephens will next play defending champion Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals. Azarenka, who was joined by American rapper friend Redfoo, won her quarterfinal match against Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-1 to set up the battle with the young American.
I'm just glad I could produce my good tennis when it was needed," Azarenka said.
Azarenka likely was happy with the upset, as she is just 1-11 in her career against Williams. Maria Sharapova advanced in the other half of the women's draw, dropping only nine games so far in the tournament.
"Victoria is not haunted by Serena," said Azarenka's coach Samuel Sumyk. "If [Williams] would have won, we would have started thinking about her, but not before the match is played. Now we can focus on Sloane. Fair enough.
Roger Federer was pushed on the men's side by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals, but pulled through to win 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3 against the 2008 Australian Open finalist. Federer has won the slam four times and is looking to add an 18th trophy to his career resume.
"I thought he played very aggressive," Federer said of Tsonga. "I love those four-set or five-set thrillers and I was part of one tonight."
Tsonga played hard throughout the match and fought off four match points before losing the fifth. The match lasted 3 hours, 34 minutes and set up a showdown between Federer and U.S. Open champion Andy Murray, who defeated Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
On the other side of the men's draw, Novak Djokovic will play David Ferrer on Thursday in the first semifinal match.