TENNIS WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS:RANKED 82 in the world and from a country that does not have a single grass court, it came as no surprise that Tsvetana Pironkova had not worked on any particular game plan prior to her quarter-final with Venus Williams.

The 22-year-old, who had won just one match at Wimbledon before this year, became the second player of that exact world ranking to dispose of an American hope.

Yen-hsun Lu, aka Randy, the player who claims to catch chickens as well as play tennis, beat Andy Roddick on Monday night to kick-off this year’s curse on US players by the number 82.

“I didn’t have a particular strategy against her,” said a disbelieving Pironkova after the astonishing 6-2, 6-3 win that puts her into the semi-finals against Vera Zvonareva. The Russian, Zvonareva, also confounded experts in beating Centre Court favourite and eighth seed Kim Clijsters.

Of all eight players yesterday, it was Venus Williams who looked most unhinged by the progression of Pironkova and her own unravelling in the sun. She turned to the sky, the ground and her family in the guest box. All they could do was lamely clap and stay schtum. Their little sister, their daughter, could not keep a ball in play and she didn’t know why.

Pironkova’s tactic was to hit it to the five times Wimbledon champion and watch her hit it out. The number two seed’s unforced error count reached 29, which she agreed was more mistakes than all the previous rounds combined.

There was eight years in the age difference and Williams, at 30 years old, may well see her chances of another title diminishing. But her defeat over an hour and 25 minutes had little to do with seniority.

Losing her serve, one of her best and most reliable weapons, usually means trouble and twice in the first set Williams did just that to collapse 6-2. Usually she can reel in her naturally aggressive game, but in the second set the wide volleys and the looping long ground strokes conspired to push the match beyond her reach.

“I just didn’t get enough balls in. I let it spiral,” she said afterwards without understanding how it happened.

“I just seemed to hit each one out. I don’t think I did anything right today.

“If I hadn’t contributed to her effort, I’m not so sure it would have gone as well. I made too many contributions to her. It was not a good match today. I missed all shots today; forehand, volley, backhand. If there was a shot to miss, I think I missed it.

“I just kind of let myself exit,” she added. “Obviously I’m not pleased. But I have to move on. What else can I do unless I have a time machine?”

In the second set there was an exchange of service games before Pironkova broke Williams a second time and served for 5-2. The American then saved two match points on her own serve and finally scrambled home, forcing the Bulgarian to serve for the match.

Throughout the set there were wails of American frustration as Pironkova mixed her play and denied Williams much of a rhythm.

Fittingly a Williams forehand volley, rushed and wide, closed the match and with it one half of the Williams family’s interest in the championship perished.

Family revenge on the draw was swift and simple with younger sister Serena taking China’s Na Li in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 to secure her passage. A player who had troubled Serena in the past fell simply and disappointingly in one hour and 20 minutes.

The reigning champion now meets Petra Kvitova, the Czech left-hander ranked 62 in the world. The semi-final line-up has one recognisable figure and three that no one could have possibly picked at the beginning of the tournament.

Kvitova, like Pironkova, had posted nothing to suggest a semi-final was within her range of ability. Her quarter-final against qualifier Kaia Kanepi went to three sets and had not the former world number 18 visibly tired and squandered several match points, she could be facing Williams tomorrow.

Kanepi, who could have become just the third qualifier in history to make the semi-final of a Grand Slam, went 4-0 up in the third set but fumbled and let it all come crashing down against an opponent who had never won on grass before she came to Wimbledon this year.

Kanepi dropped her serve three times to Kvitova over the next nine games, allowing the left-hander take a 7-6 lead and serve for the match to win 4-6, 7-6(8), 8-6.

From Williams’s point of view that is a tasty meeting for the world number one, who has been involved in six Wimbledon semi-finals and has won three. But she wouldn’t agree.

“It’s not mine to lose, it’s mine to win. There’s three other people who are vying to win it,” she said. “She’s a good player. I actually thought she would get through the early rounds. She’s a lefty. She’s really, really good.

“Obviously she beat Wozniacki (third seed). I saw how well she was doing, how well she was playing. She’s a really tough player,” added Serena in an unusual flourish of flattery.

As she was going out on court, Venus was coming in after her crushing defeat. The two had a brief conversation.

“Yeah, I spoke to her,” said Serena. “That was a private conversation.”

No Clijsters, no Henin, no Venus. And now, no all-Williams final either this year.