Serena, Venus Williams fall in first round of doubles at US Open originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
It looks like the Williams sisters’ doubles journey has come to an end right as it started.
In two sets on Thursday night, Czech duo Lucie Hradecká and Linda Nosková defeated sisters Serena and Venus Williams by a score of 7-6, 6-4 in the first round of women’s doubles.
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During the first set, which took an hour and 12 minutes, the Williams sisters were head-to-head with the Czech pair but lost 7-6 in a tiebreaker. The second set wasn’t going the Williams sisters’ way at first, but the pair came back slightly before ultimately falling 6-4 in the second set.
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Serena is a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion and a 14-time major women’s doubles champion, all alongside her sister Venus. The two superstars are undefeated in the Grand Slam women’s doubles finals. Venus is a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and is a former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles. Serena and Venus have won three Olympic gold medals in women’s doubles, which is an all-time joint record.
Hradecká is a 37-year-old Czech tennis professional who is currently ranked No. 25 in the world in doubles. She has three Grand Slams under her belt in doubles, including two in women’s with Andrea Hlavackova at the 2011 French Open and the 2013 U.S. Open, as well as one in mixed doubles with František Čermák at the 2013 French Open.
Nosková, who is also a Czech athlete, is only 17 and at her first U.S. Open tournament. She recently fell to fellow Czech Marie Bouzkova on Tuesday during the first round of women’s singles.
Despite Hradecká and Nosková having never played doubles together while Serena and Venus are veterans, the two came out dominant.
Hradecká and Nosková will continue their trek in women’s doubles on Saturday when they face Andreja Klepač and Alexa Guarachi in the second round.
Serena Williams has at least one more match to come at this U.S. Open when she takes on Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of women’s singles on Friday night.
