AFP
Rio de Janeiro, August 10: Serena Williams’ hopes of a fifth Olympic gold medal were crushed by Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina here Tuesday as the battle for the women’s title here was blown wide open.
Top seed and defending champion Serena was clearly struggling with a right shoulder injury as she was stunned 4-6, 3-6 by Svitolina, 13 years her junior.
“The better player won,” said Serena, who served eight double faults, including five in one game in the second set. She also hit 37 unforced errors. “It was a great opportunity. It didn’t work out the way I wanted it to, but at least I was able to make it to Rio. That was one of my goals.”
Only three of the top 10 seeds have made it to the last eight of the women’s draw. The Rio Games – and possibly her Olympic career – are now over for Serena.
Serena was joined at the exit ramp by third seed and French Open champion Garbine Muguruza who lost to Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig 1-6, 1-6.
Wimbledon champion Serena was clearly hampered by the shoulder injury which forced her to skip the Montreal event. At one point, she screamed out in pain, ‘shoulder, shoulder’.
Meanwhile in the men’s segment second seed Andy Murray raced into the last 16, blitzing Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 6-1. Rafa Nadal, the third seed, was equally ruthless, claiming a seventh win in eight clashes against Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-3. The Spaniard showed some of his trademark retrieving during the match.
Murray will face Fabio Fognini of Italy for a quarterfinal spot. Fognini saved two match points to defeat Benoit Paire 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5). Minutes later, French team officials said that Paire was being expelled from the Games for ‘flouting rules’.
In other women’s singles matches, second seed Angelique Kerber eased past Australia’s Samantha Stosur 6-0, 7-5. She next faces British 10th seed Johanna Konta who downed Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. American seventh seed Madison Keys enjoyed a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over gritty Spaniard, Carla Suarez Navarro and will meet promising Russian Daria Kasatkina for a place in the last four.
Two-time Wimbledon winner Petr Kvitova needed three sets to beat Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.