They were defeated by Czech Republic’s Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-4.
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Of those 12 matches, the USA has lost in half – none of which were more shocking than top-seeded Serena Williams and Venus Williams’s 6-3, 6-4 loss to the Czech Republic duo of Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova in the first round.
The American duo was seeded No. 1 and coming off a 14th Grand Slam championship together at Wimbledon a month ago.
It would be a forehand off the net cord, however, that clinched victory on his second match point. “I told myself before just go for it 200 percent and enjoy, and this incredible crowd helped me so much to go through this match”.
“This victory is bigger than last time because I know how tough it was to come back from three surgeries”, said the 27-year-old who unleashed more than 40 winners.
This was Serena’s second match of the day: She won her first-rounder in singles earlier Sunday.
The loss will not be the end of the competition for 2000 Sydney Games champion Williams, however, as the 36-year-old is bidding to win her fourth doubles gold medal with sister Serena. Williams fired down an ace and then chased down a Gavrilova drop shot to hit a victor to go up 5-2. By comparison, Safarova and Strycova recorded 26 winners.
The Williams sisters were matching their Czech opponents point-for-point in the second set and even lead 4-3 at one stage.
Along with her three gold medals in doubles, the younger Williams won gold in singles at London.
Murray, playing for the first time since securing his second career All England Club title, next faces Argentina’s Juan Monaco, one of his closest friends on tour. “It wasn’t easy to prepare first round on first day, playing singles and doubles and playing Grigor, and I lost to him the last time we played”.
Venus Williams finds herself out of the tournament after only two days, unless she decides to play mixed doubles, having lost to Kirsten Flipkens in the opening round of the singles on Saturday night.
Germany’s Kerber, who won the 2016 Australian Open, dispatched Colombia’s Mariana Duque-Marino in two sets 6-3 7-5 but also struggled with wind after a long delay to her match. It was the beginning of one of the great runs in Olympic history, as the sisters, over a span of three Olympics (they skipped 2004), went a ideal 15-0 with three gold medals.
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And then she and Strycova started laughing.
