Olympics Monday: Second Wave
Action is hot and heavy in Rio on Monday as all 16 second-round clashes will take place. Wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo previews the action.
Action is hot and heavy in Rio on Monday as all 16 second-round clashes will take place. Wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo previews the action.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Four-time Olympic gold medalist Serena Williams survived some breezy conditions to ease past unseeded Aussie Daria Gavrilova, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the second round of the Olympic tennis event.
“It felt really good to be out htere today,” Serena said after the match. “It’s been a long time; four years ago I was out here playing the Olympics, so it’s really cool to be here again.”
Serena swept the singles and doubles events four years ago in London, but struggled early on against Gavrilova, who was making her Olympic debut. Racing out to a 5-2 lead in the opening set, Serena found herself pegged back to 5-4 against the combined forces of the Aussie and the dust storm known as a “haboob,” but played her best tennis when it mattered most to put herself a set from victory after 49 minutes.
“Early on it was super windy, and it was a survival of just who could get the ball in; it wasn’t quality tennis because of the strange and tough conditions. But I got through it.”
No sweat from Serena. She’s fired up and breaks Gavrilova to pocket the set 6-4. Patience will be the key to winning on these slow courts.
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 7, 2016
Gavrilova is a former Youth Olympic gold medalist in 2010, and began 2016 with a bang, winning the Hopman Cup alongside countryman Nick Kyrgios and reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open; the youngster continued to fight in the second set, digging out of a marathon sixth game to keep herself in contention, but ultimately succumbed on her third match point.
Hoping to win her fifth Olympic gold medal – and second in singles – Serena will next play the winner of Johanna Larsson and Alizé Cornet for a spot in the third round. The American will also begin her doubles campaign with sister Venus, who took a heart-breaking loss to Kirsten Flipkens on the first day of play last night.
“We just want to have the chance. Hopefully we can win a couple of matches, and see how it goes. We love playing doubles, period, so every four years, we know we have a chance where we’re guaranteed to get some matches.”
At the start of the weekend, Serena got a shoutout from former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is currently the Democratic nominee for the 2016 presidental election:
Four gold medals and counting: Today, @SerenaWilliams hits the court in Rio to add to her collection. pic.twitter.com/iOMV0FH38S
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 6, 2016
No.2 seed Angelique Kerber was not too far behind her American rival on Sunday, winning the last five games of her first round match against Mariana Duque-Mariño, 6-3, 7-5.
The 2012 Olympic tennis event quarterfinalist was coming off a run to the semifinals at the Rogers Cup, but didn’t have things all her own way against the Colombian, who took a 5-2 lead in the second set – holding a set point on her own serve at 5-3 – before the German came back to book her place in the second round.
Kerber will next play Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, who sailed past Sloane Stephens, 6-3, 6-3; Bouchard beat Kerber in their most recent encounter at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
“It's an honor to play for ??. I will give everything to win a medal.”
Kerber on #Rio2016: https://t.co/OTneLotFCe pic.twitter.com/Un61YNfp0t
— WTA (@WTA) August 5, 2016
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Czech dynamos Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova played pitch perfect doubles to dispatch reigning Wimbledon winners and three-time Olympic gold medalists Venus Williams and Serena Williams, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the Olympic tennis event.
The Williams sisters came to Rio with a perfect 15-0 record in Olympic doubles, having captured three gold medals in Sydney, Beijing, and London. But the top seeds faced stiff opposition in the Czechs, who have won four of the last five Fed Cup titles – including last year’s championship, where Strycova helped win the decisive doubles rubber.
Safarova and Strycova recovered from an early break to win six of the final seven games of the opening set, setting the stage for a titanic second set that saw both teams face massive swings in momentum. The Czechs appeared to clinch the necessary advantage by breaking in an almost endless fifth game, but the sisters immediately struck back, saving another break point to get within two games of a deciding set.
Saving three break points of their own, the unseeded duo broke serve one last time to serve out the biggest upset of the tournament in just over 90 minutes.
For Venus, the loss marks what could be the end of a disappointing Olympic outing – unless she opts to participate in the mixed doubles event – losing in the opening round of both singles and doubles.
There'll be no Olympic medal of any color for Venus & Serena. Lose for FIRST TIME at Olys, out in 1R 63 64 vs. Safarova/Strycova #Rio2016
— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) August 7, 2016
With No.2 seed Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic losing their first round on Saturday, the doubles draw is wide open, with a host of talented teams capable of grabbing a medal in Rio. Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe dropped just two games in their first round against Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, 6-1, 6-1. Chinese duo Xu Yi-Fan and Zeng Saisai were equally emphatic against the Kichenok twins from Ukraine, defeating Nadiia and Lyudmyla, 6-0, 6-3.
Former No.1s Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci made their long-awaited reunion at the Olympic tennis event, dispatching Germans Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber, 6-2, 6-2.
On court action from our first match at the #RioOlympics2016 !! ??????? @CoCoVandey @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/H9mVi8U32g
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) August 7, 2016
An interview with Eugenie Bouchard before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza faced few problems to kick off her singles campaign at the Olympic tennis event, defeating late entrant Andreea Mitu, 6-2, 6-2, to reach the second round.
Muguruza has had a stellar 2016 season, highlighted by a maiden Grand Slam win over World No.1 Serena Williams at the French Open, but the Spaniard had been dogged by injuries, illnesses, and inconsistencies since, losing in the second round of Wimbledon and withdrawing from the opening round of the Rogers Cup.
Playing her first hardcourt match since the Miami Open, Muguruza fell behind 2-0 to Mitu, who entered the draw following the late withdrawal of former No.1 Jelena Jankovic due to a right shoulder injury. The No.3 seed turned the tide from there, however, winning the final six games of the set and never looking back, taking the second set by the identical scoreline and securing victory in one hour and 13 minutes.
Up next for the former World No.2 is Nao Hibino, who won a topsy-turvy three-setter against Irina-Camelia Begu, who defeated Muguruza at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Earlier in the day, No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova survived a second set hiccup to decimate China’s Wang Qiang, 6-1, 4-6, 6-0, to book a second round meeting with the always-dangerous Monica Niculescu. Also in No.2 seed Angelique Kerber’s section are No.10 seed Johanna Konta and No.13 seed Samantha Stosur; each won their first round matches on Sunday over Stephanie Vogt and Jelena Ostapenko, respectively. Caroline Garcia ended the hopes of Brazil’s favorite daughter Teliana Pereira with a 6-1, 6-2 win, and will play Konta for a spot in the third round.
No.11 seed Petra Kvitova soared past Timea Babos, who reached the Florianopolis final just last week, 6-1, 6-2, to set up an exciting second round clash with former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane dispatched alternate Lucie Hradecka, 6-2, 6-2, and the pair loom as prospective quarterfinal opponents for top seed Serena Williams, who advanced on Sunday morning.
. @GarbiMuguruza needs just 72 minutes to defeat Mitu 62 62 and set up a 2nd round meeting with Nao Hibino #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/T1ndZ2PgNd
— ITF Olympic Tennis (@OlympicsTennis) August 7, 2016
An interview with Venus Williams before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
“It’s a tournament everyone wants to play, but it’s all about the medal,” says two-time Wimbledon winner and 2012 Olympian Petra Kvitova.
What are her fellow players looking forward to most ahead of the Olympic tennis event in Rio de Janeiro? Watch the video above to find out!
An interview with Angelique Kerber before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The first round of the Olympic tennis event wraps up on Sunday with all of the top seeded women headlining the action, including Serena Williams and Garbiñe Muguruza.
Sunday, First Round
Centre Court
[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs Daria Gavrilova (AUS #46)
Head-to-head: Williams leads 1-0
It’s been a somewhat quiet season for Australia’s Daria Gavrilova. Since last year’s breakthrough, she’s succumbed to a string of first and second losses, results at odds with the 22-year-old’s big game and even bigger promise. But despite the early exits, Gavrilova’s reputation as a giant-killer remains intact – she owns four wins over Top 20 players so far, including victories over Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep.
She’ll have to bring every ounce of her dogged belief and determination against what would be the biggest opponent of all: World No.1 Serena Williams. The American is in killer form this year, having played six events and reaching the final in all but one. She’s also fresh off a monumental Wimbledon win, where she won her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title, and comes to Rio once again chasing history and vying to become the first tennis player – male or female – to win five Olympic medals.
Court 1
Mariana Duque-Mariño (COL #82) vs [2] Angelique Kerber (GER #3)
Head-to-head: Duque-Mariño leads 1-0
Mariana Duque-Mariño got her first taste of gold at last year’s Pan Am Games in Toronto when she became Colombia’s first women’s tennis player to bring home the medal. Since then, Duque-Mariño has toiled through qualifying rounds and posted her career second appearance at a WTA final in Nurnberg earlier this year.
The Colombian has fond memories of the last time she played against her first-round opponent; Duque-Mariño defeated Angelique Kerber to win the title in Bogota, her hometown, back in 2010.
Kerber’s season skidded a bit after the high of winning her first Grand Slam title in Australia, but rumors of her downfall were greatly exaggerated. The German has reached the semifinals or better at seven events this year, including an appearance at the Wimbledon final and her run to the semifinal of the Rogers Cup just last week. Despite facing travel difficulties, the German arrived to her second Olympic Games in good form and primed for another deep run.
Around the grounds…
No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza kick starts her Olympics campaign against former No.1 Jelena Jankovic on Centre Court. Meanwhile No.11 seed Petra Kvitova and No.13 seed Samantha Stosur take to Court 2 to face off against Timea Babos and Jelena Ostapenko, respectively.
An interview with Johanna Konta before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.