Paris public hail end of Williams' reign

Venus Williams left Court Philippe Chatrier to a sprinkling of boos as Vera Zvonareva ended one of the most historic runs in world tennis.

The 18-year-old from Moscow defeated Williams 2-6 6-2 6-4 at the French Open to break the domination of the most famous sister act in sport.

It means there will be no all-Williams final at a Grand Slam for the first time since the Australian Open in January 2002.

But there will be a Russian in the semi-final after 20-year-old Nadia Petrova kept the seeds tumbling with an epic 3-6 6-4 6-3 triumph against Jennifer Capriati.

However, the reception Zvonareva received and Williams suffered after her fourth round match suggested the French crowd, doubtless along with the rest of tennis, believed it was a result which could only be good for the game.

Williams was a shadow of the woman who won back-to-back titles at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2000 and 2001, and Zvonareva took full advantage, scrambling for every point and exposing a flurry of errors on the Williams forehand.

Williams later insisted she was unconcerned with the hostile reception she received from a small section of the French fans at the end.

"I hope at least they had some entertainment today," said Williams. "I did what I could today. What else can I do? I'm very disappointed, I was just really off today. I just had a tough time keeping the balls in."

Zvonereva, meanwhile, showed all the coolness we have come to expect from Russian girls at Grand Slams, and seemed underwhelmed by all the attention.

"It's a big win but the tournament still continues," said Zvonareva. "My next match is on Tuesday and I've got to forget about this, go on to the next game and try to play my next game again."