Serena and Venus Williams knocked out of doubles’ play by Czech duo at US Open
Top seed Serena Williams and first-time major finalist Venus Williams were unable to make the court in the third round of the US Open on Monday in New York.
The Williams sisters, part of the four-time grand slam champions’ inner circle, were both eliminated from the doubles by the Czech duo of Lucie Safarova and Daniela Hantuchovská.
The Williams sisters were two shots away from winning the title for the second year in a row, after coming through Sunday’s thrilling semifinal with a win over two-time grand slam finalists Karolina Pliskova and Laura Robson.
“She (Williams’) was having trouble with the ball in the back end of the court, so we took a different approach,” Hantuchovská told the Associated Press.
“There were more balls in play than the ones that they were able to return.”
The Czech pair then won the tiebreak 10-6, 5-10.
“I think they were lucky because they just hit the ball over our heads a couple of times,” Hantuchovská added.
Williams’s best-of-five-set singles win over Agnieszka Radwańska at the All England Club was enough to secure the first Williams American Open title.
“It was a tough draw. They’re both very tough,” Williams said. “I felt like there were a couple of areas where I could have played better. But at the same time I was just very happy with the way I played. I think I can be a better player moving forward.”
The Williams sisters have been the best doubles team of all time, winning five French Open titles, five Wimbledon titles and one US Open title in 2013.
However, it all ended on Monday as Serena and Venus fell to one of the most-dominant doubles teams in tennis history.
