PARIS — Of all days for Serena Williams to lose her fighting spirit.

Yesterday’s French Open quarterfinal matchup with Justine Henin, the two-time defending champion, was the most anticipated match of the women’s tournament since the draw was unveiled two Fridays ago. More than that, it was Williams’s biggest test of the season, and a chance for us to see how far she is from tip-top form.

Far indeed, it turns out. Instead of the slugfest many fans had hoped for, Williams gave us a sluggish effort, losing 6–4, 6–3. Other than slamming her racket after losing her serve in the opening game of the second set — and as racket slams go, this was a tame one — Williams showed little emotion and did nothing to upset Henin’s smooth strokes and supreme confidence. The crowd, so hostile to Williams when she lost to Henin in the 2003 semifinals, hardly had time to cheer: Most fans skipped the first set in favor of lunch.

Williams lost her serve in the opening game of the match, and signs of trouble were plentiful. She moved uncertainly, hit a weak overhead, and popped up a volley so high that Henin had time to run a few errands before she charged the net and smashed a winner. In the second game, Williams checked her swing on a short forehand and floated it long. The most telling sign of her malaise on this day, however, was the number of balls she hit into the net. Top professionals generally miss long or wide; when they find the net, it’s a sure sign that something is amiss.

In a post-match press conference, Williams castigated herself, saying this was one of the worst matches of her career. She made it seem as if she would have lost to a teenager who just played tennis on the weekends with her mother. Henin, she said, won just by showing up.

“I’ve never played so hideous and horrendous,” Williams said. Later, she added, “I just pretty much stood back and let her take advantage of me. And I feel violated.”

Henin deserves more praise. She’s had better days at Roland Garros, but her strokes were less important yesterday than her confidence. She expected to win, no matter that Williams had defeated her in Miami earlier this year after facing two match points. She expected to push Williams around, even though Williams is imposing and more powerful. Serena only pushed back once, breaking her in the second game of the second set and winning the first two points of Henin’s subsequent service game. The Belgian, who turned 25 this month, escaped and went right back to dominating rallies with her powerful forehand and a low slice backhand that kept Williams hunched over as she tried to dig balls out of the clay.

Williams offered other excuses. She said her routine was off: She had a bad morning and a so-so practice. Has she never gotten up on the wrong side of bed before? Why the long face so early in the match? Where were her shrieks? (She let loose a few, and a couple of “Come ons!” but mostly she kept her mouth shut and hit the ball late and off her back foot.) Where was the Serena of Melbourne, that voluble, boastful, heroic character who defied the odds and poor conditioning to win the first major of the season? That Serena could not be denied; yesterday, someone denied her access to Philippe Chatrier stadium.

Her most telling remark came when she was asked about the moment she smashed her racket. “At that point,” Williams said, “I was still fighting.” She quickly corrected herself and added, “I mean, I was fighting until the end.” She had it right the first time. Williams won one point in the last two games and committed seven errors in nine points. Hard to say that she went down swinging.

***

While the Williams-Henin encounter was not as advertised, the most talked-about players of this tournament — three charming Serbians with striking features, gleaming smiles, and punishing strokes — continue to please. Novak Djokovic today will play his second French Open quarterfinal in as many years; he faces Igor Andreev, the Russian with the blonde locks and broad shoulders of a superhero (get that man a cape). On Thursday, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, who won their quarterfinal matches yesterday, will try to make the women’s final an all-Serbian affair.

Everyone is crazy about the Serbs at the moment, and rightfully so. It’s worth taking a moment, however, to reflect on recent crazes of this kind. Henin and Kim Clijsters had the tennis world head over heels for Belgium. Henin is still going strong, Clijsters has retired at the ripe old age of 23, and we’ve yet to see much promise from the younger players who suddenly had perfect role models. No tennis movement was bigger, or more talked about, than the rise of the Russian women. Sharapova remains a contender (she moved into the semifinals yesterday) but the rest, despite fast feet and fabulous forehands, have largely faded (Sharapova has won two majors, while Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Myskina won one each, and are not favorites to win more).

Djokovic seems destined to do better. It’s not as easy to say the same about Ivanovic and Jankovic, whose games remain flawed (Ivanovic doesn’t move well, and Jankovic, a fantastic athlete who started tennis at age 9, has a lollypop serve). What skills does Ivanovic own that Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion, does not? She’s steadier, true, but doesn’t move anywhere near as well and hasn’t the Russian’s power on either the forehand or backhand side. Remember, too, that a year ago Jankovic was talking about quitting tennis, after she lost 10 consecutive matches from January to May. In tennis, fortunes can change quickly.

This is not to say that these women, or Djokovic, should be doubted. Just don’t fete them quite yet.

tperrotta@nysun.com

French Open Results

Men – Quarterfinals

Roger Federer, SUI (1), def. Tommy Robredo (9), ESP, 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Nikolay Davydenko (4), RUS, def. Guillermo Canas (19), ARG, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.

Women – Quarterfinals

Ana Ivanovic (7), SCG def. Svetlana Kuznetsova (3), RUS, 6-0, 3-6, 6-1.
Jelena Jankovic (4), SCG, def. Nicole Vaidisova (6), CZE, 6-3, 7-5.
Justine Henin (1), BEL, def. Serena Williams (8), USA, 6-4, 6-3.
Maria Sharapova (2), RUS, def. Anna Chakvetadze (9), RUS, 6-3, 6-4.