Douglas will leave Rio with at least one gold medal, however, after the American women won the team competition in commanding fashion on Tuesday.
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“The better player today won but I know next time is going to be a really good match and I look forward to it”.
Top seed and defending champion Williams was clearly struggling with a right shoulder injury as she was stunned 6-4, 6-3 by Svitolina, 13 years her junior.
Williams and her sister Venus lost in the first round of doubles to Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic.
Williams’ defeat followed a first round loss for men’s world number one Novak Djokovic.
Women’s number one tennis star Serena descended out of the mission as an Olympic title defense.
Both moved into the third round on Tuesday.
The Olympics mark Nadal’s return to competition after a two-month hiatus due a wrist injured that forced him to withdraw from the French Open.
Williams has committed spraying errors and piled up some double-faults losing 6-4, 6-3.
“I still have goosebumps”, said Puig. Only those who win their quarter-finals will be guaranteed a shot at a medal, with the Bronze Medal to be decided by the two players who lose their semi-finals.
Second seed Murray raced into the last 16, blitzing Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 6-1.
Svitolina will face off against the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova in the women’s singles quarterfinals on August 10.
Spain’s No. 3 Garbine Muguruza, who beat Williams to win the French Open title, also lost, 1-6, 1-6 to Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig. Svitolina will now play Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals. “And I think it helped me a lot – you don’t expect mistakes from her and just fight and stay focused”. She did not make many unforced errors. She said it is a really good opportunity.
Following her match, Williams did not show up in her news conference.
Afterward, she sounded as if she did. As for her chances of gold, she said: “I’m just as far as I am close”.
“It’s obviously surprising but Del Potro is a great, great player when he’s fit”, Murray said.
After 45 minutes, she was up a set and a break at 2-1 in the second. However, she ignored the media after the games.
But Williams did not go quietly. This could be one of the toughest fiascos in her career.
Oddly so, too, with all of those double-faults. The final score was 6-4, 6-3, according to N. She did, however, refrain from smashing it the way she had a night earlier, cracking the equipment against her sideline chair during a ragged first set.
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In her first-round match against Daria Gavrilova, Williams hit just 46 percent of her first serves in.
