Their first round loss to Czech duo Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova was their first-ever Olympic loss in the doubles competition.
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Sounding hoarse, she said: “The better player today won but I can’t wait for next time and I know next time is going to be a really good match and I look forward to it”.
I tried not to think about playing Serena, the Olympic champion and (winner of) so many Grand Slams.
With opponent Elina Svitolina of Ukraine having never defeated her, Serena Williams was expected to advance through to the quarterfinals of the women’s singles tournament with little difficulty.
Williams’ defeat came hours after third-seed and French Open champion Garbine Muguruza was knocked out by Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig.
The 20th-ranked Svitolina, meanwhile, never before played in the Olympics and only once has been to a major quarter-final.
Williams’ trouble began early on in the contest when she was broken in the opening frames and quickly surrendered the set, mainly due to an unusual amount of errors on her returns.
Svitolina was smart and in control, committing only 17 unforced errors. She next faces British 10th seed Johanna Konta, who downed Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.
It was the next game that finally saw Williams show more emotion. After hitting a volley victor, she fist pumped in an effort to get herself fired up.
In the case of Williams and Svitolina, what a difference a day make.
Svitolina answered with another solid service game, including striking an ace out wide to take the set 6-4. Crazily enough, she’s the second-highest seed remaining.
Observers noted that Williams appeared to be struggling with a shoulder injury.
Both moved into the third round Tuesday.
Williams, a 22-time grand-slam champion, praised Svitolina, who she had beaten in their four previous meetings.
Williams simply couldn’t find enough ways to hit winners past the speedy Svitolina.
But the magnitude of her victory didn’t set in until Williams’ final shot sailed wide. Williams battled to save the first two match points against her. “To win a gold medal at the Olympics (would) make it so special, and if I can do it it’s just – unreal”. It’s so emotional. I couldn’t believe it just happened. I mean it was so mixed feeling. “I think that helped me a lot, don’t expect a mistake from her and just fight and be focused”. “In the end, it was just point by point”.
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The unpredictable Rio 2016 competition, which has seen Novak Djokovic exit the men’s competition, continued by claiming its biggest scalp of all.
