Tennis

King loses to Kvitova in French Open's 3rd round

Published May. 28, 2011 1:56 p.m. ET

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The last U.S. woman in the French Open, 115th-ranked Vania King, lost 6-4, 6-2 to No. 9-seeded Petra Kvitova in the third round Saturday.

King was one of nine Americans who entered the women's tournament. The last time a U.S. woman other than Serena or Venus Williams reached the fourth round at Roland Garros was 2005.

King explained that she didn't grow up being a big fan of playing on red clay, the surface used at the French Open.

''To be honest, I used to hate clay. I was, like, running on glass. That's what it felt like to me on clay,'' said the 22-year-old King, who lives in California and Florida. ''So I feel like I've come a long, long way since then.''

King has won two Grand Slam doubles titles, but she's never been past the third round in singles at 20 major tournaments.

Kvitova, a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year, dictated play Saturday, compiling 30 winners, 22 more than King. Kvitova faces No. 6 Li Na of China next.

King was bothered Saturday by a sore right groin muscle. After the first set, she was treated by a trainer.

''If I can't run, then I might as well not be on the court, because that's the way I play,'' King said.

But she didn't blame her lopsided loss on her leg, instead giving credit to Kvitova.

''Especially on my serve, I felt like I was struggling, because she was taking the first ball and pounding it as hard as she could,'' King said.

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