PARIS -- The first ominous volley was struck by Evie Dominikovic, who after taking a set from her in the second round, said she was happy to be playing Venus Williams, rather than her younger sister, Serena.

	Venus Williams has become the sister people want to play.

The unkindest cut came Sunday, when an 18-year-old Russian named Vera Zvonareva came back from a one-set deficit to send the No. 3-seeded Venus flying awkwardly out of the French Open 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

It was a disastrous day for the American women here at Roland Garros, as No. 6 seed Lindsay Davenport and No. 7 seed Jennifer Capriati joined Williams in the losers' bracket. Trailing Conchita Martinez 6-4, 2-0, Davenport retired with an injury to her left foot. Capriati lost to another young Russian, Nadia Petrova, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Top-seeded Serena Williams, No. 2 Kim Clijsters, No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo and No. 8 Chanda Rubin also advanced.

Heading into the last day of the first week at Roland Garros, if the seeds held up, five U.S. players would have advanced to the quarterfinals. Last year there were four Americans (both Williams sisters, Capriati and Monica Seles) in the quarters, but you had to turn back all the way to 1986 to find a group that big: Chris Evert, Mary Joe Fernandez, Carling Bassett, Kathy Rinaldi and Martina Navratilova, who had become a U.S. citizen five years earlier.

While Davenport's exit was hardly a surprise, given the tenuous state of her foot, and Capriati's match against Petrova was advertised as difficult at best, Zvonareva's breakthrough win -- Williams is the highest female seed to depart -- was something of a surprise.

Twelve double-faults and 75 unforced errors will do that to you.

"I was really off," Williams said.

She blamed her lack of preparation. Williams has only played 20 matches this year; she played in Warsaw a month ago, reaching the finals, but retired after suffering an abdominal muscle tear. She was scheduled to play in Rome but was forced to withdraw. With two Fed Cup matches on carpet against the Czech Republic, her clay-court total was four matches before arriving at Roland Garros. By contrast, Zvonareva had played 19 clay matches.

"I felt I had to try to compensate in other areas, whereas normally I could be playing freely and swinging freely and just be completely ready," Williams said. "So that made it hard."

Williams wouldn't say if the injury affected her game.

"I just want to leave all my abdominal injuries behind," she said. "In the future, get better, move on, play my next tournament."

A year ago here, Zvonareva found herself in nearly the same situation.

She won her first four matches at the French Open -- a noble accomplishment for a 17-year-old -- and ran into a Williams named Serena. She was not impressed. Zvonareva actually won the first set 6-4 but, when reality finally dawned on her, got run off the court 6-0, 6-1.

On Sunday, she was fearless again. The difference? A year of experience. Confidence.

	“	"I feel like I'm going forward. I feel like there isn't always a time where things can be 100 percent. When you lose and when you have tougher times, it makes you stronger and moving forward. And I still feel that I'm doing those things." ”
		— Venus Williams

"If you go to the court and you don't believe you can win, you will never do this," Zvonareva said. "I just went to the court. I didn't have any fear to go in this tournament. I was believing that I was confident that I could do this, but only in the case if I would play my best tennis.

"I think I did."

From a tactical standpoint, Zvonareva attacked Venus' sometimes flighty forehand.

"She was hitting backhand winners from all over the place," Zvonareva explained. "I couldn't see where she was hitting it from. The forehand, I have a chance with it. I tried to pressure it."

And the result? As the match wore on, Venus' forehand frayed and, finally, broke altogether.

It was 4-all in the third set and the crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier seemed conflicted. Do you pull for the upstart 18-year-old or root for another match from Williams? On the second deuce of the game, a Zvonareva forehand left Williams off balance and she flicked a backhand wide. In a rally of powerful groundstrokes, Zvonareva never backed off and, in the end, drilled a forehand that caught a piece of the line.

And when she won the most important match of her career, Zvonareva did not jump for joy. And though she is the same age as American Ashley Harkleroad, she did not squeal and run into the stands and hug her agent. No. Zvonareva walked coolly to the net and shook hands with Williams.

"There is more tournament, no?" she said. "I should go and play the next match on Tuesday. You just have to forget about this and try to play your best game again."

So, watch out for the Russians. Zvonareva and Petrova, as luck would have it, will meet in a quarterfinal match. Two years ago, Zvonareva was ranked No. 371 on the WTA Tour. Now she is No. 21 -- with a bullet. Petrova has gone from No. 111 to No. 76.

What does it mean?

"It means a Russian will be in the semifinals," Zvonareva said, smiling.

It means that Venus Williams will have a few extra days to collect her thoughts as she prepares for Wimbledon. Lost in her sister's amazing run of four Grand Slam singles titles is her noteworthy appearance in all four finals.

"I feel like I'm going forward," Venus said, philosophically. "I feel like there isn't always a time where things can be 100 percent. When you lose and when you have tougher times, it makes you stronger and moving forward. And I still feel that I'm doing those things."

Davenport found herself in a similarly difficult spot, trying to break down her medical condition.

"I have a sac of fluid underneath my fourth metatarsal (toe)," she said. "It's been flaring up and down for a month. The first serve and I came down on my foot, kind of flared it up and it never went away. It was hurting too much to play the way I need to play to beat anybody out there.

"It's terribly frustrating. I've been hurt for a few Slams before, but never to the point where I thought, I've got to stop."

Petrova, 20, lost only eight games in the first three rounds and looked sharp against Capriati. Just two weeks ago in Rome, Petrova defeated Seles in the second round and ran into Capriati in the round of 16. She lost to Capriati 7-5, 6-3.

"I think she had a different strategy out there," Capriati said after the two-hour match. "She was not trying to make winners, just hitting her normal, flat shots. I think she added a lot of spin to her balls, so different than in Rome."

Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.