Venus Williams Crashes Out In The First Round Of Olympics

Venus Williams' hopes of winning another Olympic gold medal has crashed after the former world No. 1 fought a tough first round battle against Belgium’s Kristen Flipkens. After three tight sets, the American fell hard, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6.

Williams - a seven-time Grand Slam champion who was seeded fifth was neck-and-neck with the unseeded Flipkens in the first set, but managed to overcome her opponent. She then surrendered the second set in a fairly decisive fashion. In the third set, Williams seemed to take control with a 4-1 lead, but experienced difficulty closing out the match. Flipkens soon tied up the score.