Serena and Venus Williams knocked out of doubles’ play by Czech duo at US Open
Serena Williams of the US and Venus Williams of the US and Venus Williams of the US and Samantha Stosur of Australia are the three-time defending champions. Photo: AFP / AFP / Getty Images / AFP / Getty Images
The first of their four women’s US Open singles matches ended less than an hour into the final round of doubles play on Thursday as the Czech Republic and America’s Venus Williams and Sam Stosur came out on top of a four-set thriller against American duo Serena and Venus Williams with the Czech victory in straight sets.
After losing the first set, American partner Serena Williams was finally out-played and out-gained by her Czech foe in the second set as well as all five games in the match.
The Americans needed just 15 minutes to get back on top of the doubles game as Venus and Sam added five more to the Czech victory.
Serena Williams and Venus Williams opened up a 4-3 lead in the third set before the fourth set was even, with two of the three sets going to five games.
American partner Serena Williams is back at her best at the US Open. Photo: Reuters / AFP / Getty Images / AFP / Getty Images
Williams and Stosur had been the favourite for the title on court after the women’s doubles final in New York last week, with the Czech team of Lucie Safarova and Lucie Hradecka holding three of the top five singles positions, including second-ranked Venus Williams.
In what was their first competitive meeting since 2010, the duo was handed a tough challenge on another day of singles action, but were able to take the lead in the opening game of the contest and held it for most of the rest of the contest.
After the women’s side had been handed the only set of the match back in the second set, both Serena Williams and Venus Williams produced brilliant shots at break point in the third set to regain the advantage, but the Czech pair was