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BERLIN (AP) -Dinara Safina ended Serena Williams' 17-match winning streak with a 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory on Friday to reach the German Open semifinals.
The 17th-ranked Russian kept pressuring Williams' backhand, the same tactic that worked a day earlier in an upset of top-ranked Justine Henin.
Both players held serve throughout the final set, before Williams let a 4-3 lead in the tiebreaker slip away and sent a forehand long and wide to end the two-hour match.
"It's not like I played my best and lost, it could be worse," Williams said. "I can sit here and name 50 things I could do better."
Elena Dementieva downed fifth-ranked Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in another upset, while the second-ranked Ana Ivanovic split sets against Agnes Szavay, 3-6, 6-4 before the match was postponed because of darkness.
Dementieva faces the winner in Saturday's semifinals, while Safina plays Victoria Azarenka, an 18-year-old who ousted 15th-seeded Alona Bondarenko 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Williams, chasing a fourth straight title, appeared poised to improve on a 21-1 record this year without trouble until Safina's hard shots began to land in the second set.
Safina said she couldn't get the Henin match out of her head at first.
"I couldn't concentrate, I started the match like, 'I won yesterday,' so that was good," Safina said. "Then I started believing I could win. I just had to be more aggressive."
Williams was the 10th top-10 victim for the 22-year-old Safina, the sister of two-time grand slam champion Marat Safin.
"I think she's playing far better than in the past," Williams said.
With the many upsets at the German Open, where 17 of the world's top 20 players started, Williams said it will be hard to name a favorite for June's French Open.
"I'm excited I lost here and not in Roland Garros," Williams said. "The pressure is off me."
After a slump in 2007, Safina said last month's win against Lindsay Davenport at the Sony Ericsson Open restored her belief in her ability to beat the top players.
Safina said her brother sent a "Roll on, sister" SMS message after the win against Henin, a four-time French Open champion.
Safina now has beaten most of the best players, a list that includes Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport. But the Russian said she didn't see herself among their ranks soon.
"I'm No. 17. It's such a long way," Safina said. "How far I can go? Only God knows."
When Safina raised her game in the second set, she broke serve twice, whipping a shot past Williams at the net to take a 4-0 lead.
