Serena Williams loses in 3 sets to opponent ranked 116th

[ASFN Admin]

Serena Williams lost to an opponent ranked outside the top 100 for the first time in eight years Friday, beaten by Shelby Rogers 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the Top Seed Open quarterfinals. Need to go even further back in the record books to find this sort of tournament exit for former No. 1 Williams: The owner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles hadn't bowed out against someone so low in the rankings since No. 111 Virginie Razzano stunned her at the 2012 French Open. Shortly after that, Williams teamed up with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who still works with her and was among the few people in the stands Friday -- fans are not allowed at the first tennis tournament in the U.S. since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic.

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