After 34 Wins In A Row, Serena Williams Loses Wimbledon

It was a loss for Serena Williams today on the Wimbledon court, but, well, a big win for anger management. Having just championed the French Open, 34 consecutive matches, and the world No.1 title, the lioness of women's tennis did not smash her racket into pieces on the court, or shriek abuse at the umpire. Instead, Serena respectfully said of her opponent, Germany's Sabine Lisicki, "She was definitely reading my serve. It's not a shock. She plays really good on grass."

Sure, Serena. It's probably the grass.

In a Wimbledon that been riddled by bookies' favorites dropping like flies—Rafael Nadal falling in the first round, and Roger Federer in the second—Williams' loss in the fourth round is the latest curveball, and has been described as the most surprising of all.

That said, Lisicki has actually already beaten Williams in the last four Wimbledons.

"I am still shaking," Lisicki said after the match. "I am so happy." She'll now play Estonia's Kaia Kanepi for a place in the final four.

Meanwhile, it hasn't been a great few weeks for Williams, who faced a wave of criticism last month after casually mentioning to Rolling Stone that she thought the Steubenville rape victim was basically sort of asking for it. In an attempt to fix things, Williams attempted a strange, half-hearted apology to the families involved. Last Monday, presumably after a stint of media training, Williams released a third and far more well-received statement:

“I am deeply sorry for my insensitive and misinformed comments. It was not my intention to cause the victim and her family any additional pain. But I did, and I am sorry... Rape and all forms of sexual assault are completely unacceptable, no matter the circumstances. Sexual assault perpetrated against women and men is never acceptable and *never* the fault of the victim.”

Or grass.