Tournament favourite crashes out at SW19.
Five-time winner Serena Williams has suffered a shock defeat in round three of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.
The 32-year-old’s hopes of picking up her 18th Grand Slam singles title were dashed as 25th seed Alize Cornet secured a memorable victory in a rain-interrupted match.
Cornet made an excellent start, breaking Williams in the opening game, but the American hit back straight away and, after a lengthy delay, went on to take the opening set 6-1.
Things were looking grim for Cornet, but her aggressive tactics began to pay off as she struck 11 winners and just four unforced errors in the second set, which she won 6-3.
Cornet’s revival continued in the third and Williams began to get nervy, contributing to her own downfall as she lost the decider 6-4.
In total, Cornet made 28 winners and 18 unforced errors, while Williams produced 29 of each.
Cornet has never progressed beyond round four of a Grand Slam. To change that she must beat Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, who saw off Andrea Petkovic 6-3 6-4.
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