Williams cause of her own demise

LONDON -- Struggling to stave off an early exit at Wimbledon, defending champion Venus Williams complained to the chair umpire that her opponent was playing too fast.

That bought Williams a little time, but not enough. Her bid for a fourth Wimbledon title and second in a row ended with a third-round loss yesterday to 26th-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, 7-6 (10-8), 4-6, 6-4.

The defeat was largely self-inflicted: Williams committed 54 unforced errors, including 12 double faults. She had 16 errors in the final four games.

``It's not like you'll beat a defending champion, a champion like Venus, every day," Jankovic said. ``I mean, it's a huge win."

Annoyed by the brisk pace of Jankovic's play, Williams lodged a grievance in the third set. ``When I was walking to the line, she would serve immediately, which made it difficult to get ready," Williams said.

Jankovic joked that it sounded as if the complaint was that her serves were too fast. ``The umpire told me, `I think you need to slow down the pace a little bit.' I said, `I need to slow down the pace? . . . How fast I serve?' And the crowd started laughing," Jankovic said.

The elimination of Williams and two-time finalist Andy Roddick -- the No. 3 seed losing to Andy Murray of Britain, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-4 -- in a 90-minute span left only one American in the tournament -- Shenay Perry. The unseeded 21-year-old reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam event for the first time by beating Sybille Bammer, 7-5, 6-3.