With opponent Elina Svitolina of Ukraine having never defeated her, Serena Williams was expected to advance through to the quarterfinals of the women’s singles tournament with little difficulty. Svitolina’s history of struggles against Williams weren’t an issue Tuesday night however, as she eliminated the top seed in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
Williams didn’t look particularly sharp but part of that is due to the play of Svitolina, who won 79 percent of the available points on her first serve. Serena tallied eight double fault and 37 unforced errors in the match, and that can be too much to overcome even for the best of players.