In the latest stunning upset at the Oympic Tennis Centre, world no. 1 Serena Williams was eliminated from the women’s singles tournament in straight sets by no. 15 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
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First Venus was defeated in her solo match on Saturday, then she and Serena were bounced in their doubles match on Sunday and today Serena was sent packing in her bout with Elina Svitolina. “I just played a really long match and it’ll be about me recovering the best I can”. Svitolina came in to the match as the 20th ranked player in the women’s singles competition.
Williams fell apart in the second set against Svitolina, including serving five double faults in a single game. It didn’t work out the way I wanted it to, but at least I was able to make it to Rio.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Out of sorts and out of answers, defending champion Serena Williams is out of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Joining Svitolina in the quarter-finals is the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova, Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig, Germany’s Laura Siegemund and Angelique Kerber, Great Britain’s Johanna Konta, Russia’s Daria Kasatkina and the USA’s Madison Keys.
“It’s an unreal feeling for me”.
“I didn’t expect that I could win”.
Japan’s shocking win over New Zealand and a tournament-ending injury to Sonny Bill Williams proved on the first day of Olympic men’s rugby in 92 years what coaches have always been saying about the sevens.
But the magnitude of her victory didn’t set in until Williams’ final shot sailed wide.
Williams was the reigning Olympic gold medalist, beating Maria Sharapova, 6-0, 6-1, in London in 2012.
Of the four tennis events under way in Rio – mixed doubles hasn’t started yet – all four No. 1 seeds are gone, including Novak Djokovic in men’s singles.
Working with coaching consultant Justine Henin, a former World No.1 and recent International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee, Svitolina has shown steady signs of improvement in the last two seasons, reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal and peaking at No.14 in the world following a title run at the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.
Williams’ stats: 58% on first serves, eight double faults and 37 unforced errors. As for her chances of gold, she said: “I’m just as far as I am close”. Her last seventy two minutes in court with Svitolina brought her not that much luck. “And I think it helped me a lot-you don’t expect mistakes from her and just fight and stay focused”.
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British No1 Johanna Konta, meanwhile, remains in the draw after bouncing back from a set deficit to defeat two-time Grand Slam victor Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.
