Serena and Venus Williams were unable to rediscover their signature magic and lost to Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the first round of the US Open doubles on Thursday night.
In their first match together in over four years, and 25 years after their debut as a pair at the tournament, Venus and Serena Williams were unable to rediscover their signature magic and lost to Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the first round of the US Open doubles on Thursday night.
In front of an adoring capacity crowd — the third in four days for Serena — that included Billie Jean King, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, the sisters had the primetime night slot on Arthur Ashe, something rarely seen in doubles. The pair clearly enjoyed playing alongside one another but struggled to find momentum after losing the tightly contested 72-minute first set in a tiebreak. After going down a break and falling into a 3-0 deficit to start the second set, they fought back to win three of the next four games, but it ultimately wasn’t enough.
Hradecka even apologized to the crowd after the victory during an on-court interview, acknowledging it wasn’t the result the fans wanted.
The US Open is expected to be Serena’s final tournament before she “evolves” away from tennis.
