Serena and Venus Williams shocking exit ends their Olympic dynasty
Sixteen years ago, the Williams sisters, then aged 17 and 19, made their Olympic doubles debut on a hard court in Sydney. The expectations were sky-high for the sisters from Compton who'd been famous years before they turned pro and were just beginning their decorates careers - coming off their first singles Grand Slam titles at the U.S. Open (Serena) and Wimbledon (Venus).
Unseeded, the sisters won that first match 6-3, 6-1 over Canadians Vanessa Webb and Sonya Jeyaseelan. 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 perfect 15-0 with three gold medals. In their first two gold-medal matches, they lost a total of four games, combined. At Wimbledon, which hosted the 2012 tennis competition, they won 6-4, 6-4 over a pair of Czech players. In their 15 matches they lost a total of five sets. Of all the accomplishments of the sisters Williams, their Olympic dominance might have been one of the greatest.
The streak ended quickly and without fanfare on Sunday night as Venus and Serena, the top seeds at the Olympic doubles tournament, fell in an oddly inevitable straight sets to Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-4. (Neither had been in the aforementioned 2012 gold-medal match.) Only once this century had the sisters been eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam.
Serena, who is favored to repeat as singles gold medalist, looked listless in the loss, playing down to the level of her sister, whose serve barely registered and then was picked on by the Czechs, who forced shots her way to great success.
There were reasons for it. On Saturday, Venus was on the court for 3:19 in a devastating 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) singles loss to world No. 62 and 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens. That'd be enough to fatigue any tennis player, let alone a 36-year-old with an affliction that affects her energy and, on top of it all, some sort of cold. (And you know it was bad if Venus admitted to being "dehydrated, with some cramps and upset stomach," even if those words were from U.S. coach Mary Joe Fernandez, not Venus herself. The elder Williams sister is not one to complain.)
When the draw was released, this matchup drew immediate attention. Safarova has won two Grand Slam doubles titles with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Strycova is a fine doubles player with multiple Grand Slam quarterfinal and semifinal appearances. But they'd only played one match together so the Williams' were still heavy favorites, until Venus showed up less than 100%.
She looked like it on Sunday and now, the most dominant tennis team in Olympic history is out of the Games.
