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Serena Williams Exits French Open in Second Round Shock

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Serena Williams French Open
Serena Williams of the U.S. covers her face after missing a return during the second round match of the French Open tennis tournament against Spain's Garbine Muguruza at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris on May 28, 2014.Darko Vojinovic—AP
By Nolan Feeney

Tennis star Serena Williams, the French Open’s defending champion and No. 1 seed, crashed out of the tournament Wednesday after losing to no.35 seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain.

Williams’ surprising loss in two straight sets marks the first time the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds did not advance to the third round in a Grand Slam women’s singles tournament, Sports Illustrated reports. Agnieszka Radwanska is now the top-seeded competitor following Li Na’s loss on Tuesday.

Muguruza, who was the No. 35 seed, earned her first victory against a top-eight player with her 6-2, 6-2 win against Williams. The women played against each other for the first time last year at the Australian Open, where Williams won 6-2, 6-0 while dealing with an ankle injury.

Serena’s sister Venus also lost during the same round of the tournament. The last time the two did not advance to the third round of a Grand Slam was during the French Open in 2012.

[SI.com]

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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com