Serena Williams’s 27-match unbeaten run ended with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat by Petra Kvitova in the Madrid Open semi-finals on Friday.
Williams, the world No1, had not lost since October but her mood appeared negative and she was slow around the court against Kvitova, who broke the American’s first service game and never looked back.
The fourth seed broke serve three times in the first set and there was little resistance in the second set from a despondent Williams, who won the Madrid Open in 2012 and 2013. This was her first clay court tournament of the season as she prepares for the French Open.