Serena and Venus Williams knocked out of doubles’ play by Czech duo at US Open
Williams’ victory in a 6-0, 6-0 semifinal victory Friday wasn’t enough to prevent a dramatic collapse in women’s doubles play between the United States and Norway.
The two-hour battle, and subsequent elimination of Serena and Venus Williams, wasn’t even decided until the fourth set, after Williams won the ninth game.
In the deciding set, a mistake by a third player and several errors by opponents cost the U.S. its chance at the championship as the Norwegians dominated the first set and were only down 1-0 in the second on the night.
After the long pause, Norwegians Maria Kirilenko and Jelena Jankovic were down a set and a half early when Serena Williams stormed to a 6-0, 6-0 victory to give the Americans their 14th title. The Americans won their only other title in 2003, when Kirilenko and Jankovic helped them win in a five-set epic.
The Americans won a record 36 doubles titles in a row, eclipsing Sweden’s 29 titles in a row that began in 1973 and lasted until 2011.
After winning the second set, the Americans had no chance, as the Norwegians had little trouble breaking her serve and breaking her serve when she made mistakes. They won the first set on a tie-break, and eventually, when the U.S. was down 6-2, they won the tie-break when Kirilenko missed a forehand.
Williams beat German Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, the seventh consecutive victory over a German opponent.
“This is a great run,” Venus Williams said. “I have to give a huge amount of credit to Serena. This is unbelievable. I knew a lot about her game, but I didn