Rio 2016: Defending champion Serena Williams is knocked out of the Games

In an Olympic shocker, five time gold medallist Serena Williams crashed out of the Games after she suffered a loss of 6-4, 6-3 at the hands of Ukrainian Elina Svitolina on Tuesday. The 34-year-old American had already been knocked out of the doubles tournament along with sister Venus in the first round. 21-year-old Svitolina will now play against the two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova to notch up a seat in the semi-finals.

https://twitter.com/Rio2016_en/status/763150813673951233

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Nursing a shoulder injury, Williams was out of sorts throughout the match, up to a point where she served five double points in the seventh game of the second set. Her opponent took full advantage of her poor form, and went for the kill. Williams missed last month's Rogers Cup in Canada due to the inflammation of her shoulder too.

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"Obviously I am very disappointed. The better player won but I can't wait for next time. That will be a really good match and I look forward to it. It was a great opportunity. It didn't work out the way I wanted it to, but at least I was able to make it to Rio. That was one of my goals.," said Williams, as reported by Firstpost.

Serena needs a long vacation.. She's only human. ☹ @Rio2016_en Elina Svitolina #UKR has defeated Olympic https://t.co/5VcHmyUMGf

— AFAM (@ManLikeDede) August 9, 2016

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Williams had a 4-0 record against Svitolina earlier to this. The Ukrainian who is currently coached on tour by one of Williams' former rivals, Justine Henin, got the chance to clinch the game due to the large number of unforced errors by the American. Svitolina broke 5-4 in the opener and sealed it with an ace in the 10th game.

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Meanwhile, men's world number one Novak Djokovic also has had a first round loss. And just two top 10 seeds have made it to the quarter-finals in the women's singles.

Feature Image Credit: Theguardian.com

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