Rome ? Serena Williams lost for the second time in just over a month, the closest she’s come to a “Serena Slump” in an otherwise dominant season.

With a little more than a week before she defends her title at the French Open, the world’s top-ranked player lost to Amelie Mauresmo of France 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Italian Open Saturday.

Williams, who is 26-2 this year, failed to close out the match in the second set after leading 5-4 and serving for the victory.

Such missed opportunities were a rarity for Williams when she completed her “Serena Slam” by winning four consecutive majors, starting at Roland Garros last year and ending with the Australian Open in January.

“Everything went wrong for me,” Williams said. “I was making too many errors and struggling with my serve. I guess that sums it up. You can’t win a match with a second serve.”

Williams still exuded confidence about her play.

“There was nothing in particular she did,” Williams said of Mauresmo. “When I lose a match, it’s usually because of how I played. In the end, it’s better to lose in Rome than in Paris.”

Williams’ only other loss this year came against Justine Henin-Hardenne in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C., April 13. Both defeats were on clay, the same surface as the French Open, which begins May 26.

The fourth-seeded Mauresmo will play for the title against second-seeded Kim Clijsters of Belgium, who defeated No. 13 Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-2.

In the doubles final, 46-year-old Martina Navratilova and 17-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova will meet Jelena Dokic and Nadia Petrova.