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’13 French champ Serena Williams loses; Venus, too

By WTOP Staff

HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer

PARIS (AP) — Wind was whipping, rain was falling, and thick gray clouds overhead were foreboding as Serena Williams double-faulted, then raised her hands in despair and wailed, “I can’t serve!”

As if to prove the point, Williams double-faulted again moments later, before pushing a routine backhand wide to get broken at love.

Truth is, the French Open’s defending champion couldn’t do much properly on this particular afternoon, absorbing the most lopsided loss of her 288-match Grand Slam career. Unable to figure out how to get herself going or counter her unheralded opponent’s aggressive game, Williams was beaten 6-2, 6-2 Wednesday by 35th-ranked Garbine Muguruza of Spain in the second round.

“Nothing really worked,” said Williams, whose older sister Venus also lost. “I don’t know anything that actually worked.”

Ever since last week’s draw, there was talk about a possible all-Williams match in the third round, which would have been their first Grand Slam meeting since the 2009 Wimbledon final. So much for that: Exactly one minute before Serena’s match began on Court Suzanne Lenglen, the 29th-seeded Venus’ 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat against 56th-ranked Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia wrapped up in the main stadium.

“I felt like this was a match that I was most likely going to win,” Venus said. “I don’t know how Serena felt, but I’m sure she feels like that every time she goes on the court. So I think our expectation was to play in the next round.”

Instead of the 25th Williams vs. Williams encounter on tour, it’ll be the 20-year-old Muguruza vs. 19-year-old Schmiedlova.

Serena’s exit came a day after a loss by No. 2 Li Na, the first time in the Open era, which began in 1968, that the top two women were gone before the third round at any major tournament.

“Nobody’s safe,” summed up Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach who began working with Serena after the 2012 French Open.

“Usually when she’s in trouble, she always finds a way,” Mouratoglou said. “But she’s a human being, so today she couldn’t.”

The biggest beneficiary might be Maria Sharapova, who won the 2012 French Open, lost to Serena in last year’s final and potentially faced a quarterfinal against the American this time. Sharapova beat 42nd-ranked Tsvetana Pironkova 7-5, 6-2 in a drizzle.

Alize Cornet of France, seeded 20th, was surprised 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 by 18-year-old Taylor Townsend, an American wild-card entry ranked 205th and making her Grand Slam debut. On the men’s side, No. 15 Mikhail Youzhny and No. 20 Alexandr Dolgopolov were sent home, while No. 2 Novak Djokovic, No. 4 Roger Federer and No. 8 Milos Raonic won in straight sets.

If an early stumble by seven-time major champion Venus is no longer big news — a month shy of 34, and slowed by an energy-sapping autoimmune disease, she’s lost in the first or second round at eight of her past nine Slams — Serena’s departure was shocking for many reasons.

She owns 17 major titles, including two in Paris; Muguruza was playing in her 13th career Slam match. Serena was 54-2 on clay over the past three seasons; Muguruza was 1-1 at the French Open until this week.

“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m winning,'” Muguruza said, noting that she grew up watching Serena on TV.

“Since I was a child, I thought, ‘Oh, I want to play against Serena on center court.’ And today was the day,” Muguruza said. “And I think I did very good.”

Sure did.

Most striking of all was the brevity, 64 minutes.

Serena never before failed to win at least five games in a match at a major, but Muguruza regularly pounded serves topping 100 mph (160 kph) and held her own during baseline rallies. Serena had 29 unforced errors and only eight winners.

“She played really smart,” Serena said. “I didn’t adapt.”

So she’ll remain one major singles trophy shy of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who each won 18.

And make no mistake — it’s the majors that matter most to Serena, who lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open in January.

She’s 24-4 with a tour-high four titles in 2014, but when asked to sum up her season, she said: “I haven’t gotten past the fourth round of a Grand Slam this year. I have a couple words to describe it, but I think that would be really inappropriate, so I’m going to leave it at that. Thank you.”

With that, she left her news conference. And the tournament.

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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