Svetlana Kuznetsova plays a backhand shot against Serena Williams in their fourth round match the Miami Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, on Monday. AFPMiami: Serena Williams' bid for a ninth Miami Open title came to shock end when the world No. 1 was beaten 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-2 in the fourth round by 15th-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova on Monday.
The loss on the Miami hardcourts was the first since 2012 for Serena, who had swept the last three titles in her unofficial home tournament.
"I'm really thrilled," said Kuznetsova after registering her first win over Serena since 2009. "I'm sorry fans, who are disappointed that Serena's not going to keep playing, but for sure she'll be at more events than here.
"I'm really happy with my performance. I tried to stay at a good level the whole game. I think I did that pretty well and I'm happy with the way I served today."
It was a day of dramatic upsets at Crandon Park, as Serena stepped onto the Stadium court for her Round of 16 match immediately after third-seeded world No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland was tripped up by 19th-seeded Swiss Timea Bacsinszky 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Radwanska was the winner on the Miami hardcourts in 2012 before Serena embarked on her three title run.
Victoria Azarenka reacts during her match against Garbine Muguruza. AFPThe upsets continued into the afternoon with fourth-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza falling 7-6(6), 7-6(4) to 13th-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, still in top form following her victory this month at Indian Wells.
A tight first set saw both Serena and Kuznetsova register a break, but neither player could gain the upper hand, sending the opener to a tie-break which the top-seeded American dominated 7-3 with the help of a pair of thundering aces.
A battling Kuznetsova controlled the second set from the start, breaking the 21-time Grand Slam winner to go up 3-1 then sweeping the next three games to level the contest at a set apiece.
The Russian upped the pressure with a pair of breaks to start the third as she stormed through the opening three games before Serena finally stopped the bleeding with a break of her own at 3-1.
The relief was brief, however, as former US and French Open champion Kuznetsova immediately hit back with yet another break and went on to finish off the upset in just over two hours.
In other action, fifth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep eased into the quarters with a tidy 6-3, 6-4 decision over British wildcard Heather Watson.
Britain, however, will be represented in the last eight as Johanna Konta tamed another Romanian, Monica Niculescu, 6-2, 6-2.
(With inputs from Agencies)
