Venus Williams' return from injury came to a shuddering halt today when she was hustled out of the Australian Open 6-4 7-6 by doubles specialist Lisa Raymond in the third round.
Belgium's Kim Clijsters suffered no such mishap, routing Russian teenager Dinara Safina 6-2 6-1, and her fiance Lleyton Hewitt fought off the challenge of 17-year-old Rafael Nadal 7-6 7-6 6-2.
Hewitt's Australian Davis Cup partner Mark Philippoussis thrilled his home Melbourne Park crowd with a barnstorming win over Mario Ancic of Croatia but 11th seed Tim Henman's Open dreams were ended.
Henman let a two-set lead slip, going down 6-7 5-7 7-6 7-5 9-7 to Argentine Guillermo Canas in a four-hour, 51-minute epic. Third seed Venus had been a heavy favourite going into the match, despite this being her first tournament since the Wimbledon final last July, but she was caught cold by 30-year-old compatriot Raymond.
"I am pretty much in shock," Venus said. "I still can't believe it, but that's the way I feel after every loss.
"It is definitely going to settle in this evening. It will be like 'No!', but that's the way it is, you win some, you lose some."
Venus was playing her first tournament for six months after a stomach muscle injury and looked flat from the start. She committed 44 unforced errors in a mistake-riddled performance on Rod Laver Arena and struggled for accuracy throughout.
"She played good, she had a lot of shots rockin' and rollin' today. It was nice for her," said Venus, runner-up to younger sister Serena last year.
