MASON, Ohio — The Williams sisters have rarely had a day as miserable as this one.
Venus Williams routinely missed shots throughout a 7-6 (2), 6-4 loss to Italy’s Flavia Pennetta on Thursday, the first major upset at the Cincinnati Open. She made 38 unforced errors.

A few hours later, younger sister Serena played on the same court and played even worse. She had 44 unforced errors during a 7-5, 6-4 loss to Austria’s Sybille Bammer, who reached the quarterfinals of a tournament for only the third time this year.
Kim Clijsters extended her comeback for another day, pulling out a three-set victory that sent her into the quarterfinals.