Jung, who had picked up no penalties in the cross-country phase or the first jump on Tuesday, had another ideal round to become only the third rider in Olympic history to win back-to-back individual gold medals.
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“I was a little nervous about that”, Williams said of her reaction to hearing of the gusty conditions, which she called “very intense”.
She came into Rio as the No. 1 seed and the defending Olympic champion, with a 4-0 career record against Svitolina.
Phillip Dutton of the United States, who had come to within one fence of an individual medal in every major championship since 1994, won bronze on Mighty Nice.
After three No. 1 seeds exited Sunday – Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in men’s singles, the Williams sisters in women’s doubles, and France’s Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in men’s doubles – Williams avoided that sort of result in singles. “The better player won but I can’t wait for next time”, Williams, 34, said afterwards. Though the World No. 1 women’s singles player has a flawless 4-0 record against her 15th-seeded opponent, this insane tournament has seen stranger upsets.
Serena and sister Venus are the most successful players in Olympic tennis history with four gold medals each but Rio has been awful for the family.
Next up for the 21-year-old Petra Kvitova. But Williams broke right back in the next game.
Svitolina, the WTA’s 20th-ranked player, made just nine winners throughout the match, but was often able to stay in rallies long enough for Williams to make a mistake. Serena Williams lost on the tennis court and the USA women’s soccer team gave up a late goal and ended up in a draw with Colombia.
No. 3 Garbine Muguruza, who beat Williams to win the French Open title, also lost Tuesday, 6-1, 6-1 against Puig.
“I’m really happy I could take risks”, Svitolina said.
A ripping wind delayed the start of most tennis matches on the second day, while even those playing on the more protected Centre Court fell foul to the conditions.
Afterward, she sounded as if she did. She got to break point with a big forehand that forced an errant forehand from Williams, then converted with an inside-out forehand return victor off a 97 miles per hour (157 kph) second serve.
Day one of tennis at the Rio Games may have seen some unbelievable upsets, but day two promises nothing but stars.
Williams briefly rallied to break back at 3-3 but her calamitous seventh game sealed her fate.
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On Monday, Williams managed to turn things around, as she so often does. In the tiebreaker, Cornet went ahead 5-4 before Williams claimed the next three points and the set.
