Williams, who won gold metals in singles and doubles in the 2012 London Olympic Games, will leave Rio with no medals.
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Williams, the 2012 London Games gold medalist, entered the third round singles match having never lost to Svitolina in their previous meetings. She lost the adrenaline from her initial lead and lost to Ukranian player, Elina Svitolina.
“I really didn’t think about it even when I was 40-30 and I won finally the match”, said Svitolina.
For Williams, who committed 37 unforced errors, it was another stunning loss in Rio.
The 2016 Olympics tennis tournament has seen its fair share of shocks in the early rounds, though none were bigger than Elina Svitolina’s straight-sets upset of World No. 1 and top-seeded Serena Williams in the women’s singles.
Williams and sister Venus were eliminated from the women’s doubles competition in the first round, but Venus will be competing with Rajeev Ram in the mixed doubles bracket. The American complained about a groin injury ahead of the French Open final against Garbine Muguruza and most recently withdrew from the Rogers Cup in Montreal with a shoulder injury.
But while the 34-year-old was favored by many to add a second Olympic singles title, she was unable to find a way past a determined opponent.
Hungarian-born Szandra Szogedi made history when she stepped onto the judo mat to become the first judoka to represent Ghana – she obtained citizenship through her husband. “Being in the moment, that’s definitely what helped me today, and just relax and go for my shots because I was doing some winners and especially on the second set when it was really, really tight”. “I was just waiting for my opportunity”. At least I was able to make Rio, which was one of my goals. But it’s unreal, it’s just the flawless moment.
Spanish great Rafael Nadal beat Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the round of 16 in the Rio 2016 Olympic tennis tournament. As errors from Williams mounted, all Svitolina had to do was keep the ball in play. Later in the third game, Svitolina with a fast forehand return victor broke Williams to take a 2-1 lead. The secret to her success, she said, was simple.
“Being in the moment”.
“I still have goosebumps”, said Puig.
Their most recent match came at the French Open on June 1, and it ended with Williams winning 6-1, 6-1.
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Svitolina, 21, will face two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova for a place in the semi-finals. This time she will walk away from the Olympics a Goose egg. Playing with Venus, she said, “was awesome”.
