Former world number one Serena Williams slid out of the Italian Open following a 6-3 2-6 7-6 defeat by Patty Schnyder in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Playing her first tournament since a groin strain forced her to pull out of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston last month, Williams struggled to find her rhythm against the 14th seed and paid the price for an error-strewn performance.
"I'm just really surprised that I won. In the first set she was missing a lot, then in the second my game went wrong," said Schnyder. Schnyder's reward will be a semi-final against third seed Jelena Jankovic, who produced an impressive display of baseline hitting to sweep past Elena Dementieva 6-2 6-1. Williams, the Australian Open champion, was left to reflect on a wayward performance.