Williams cruises through first round despite windy conditions
World No. 1 Serena Williams progressed through the first round of the Rio Olympics tennis on Sunday despite an error-strewn performance that was not helped by windy conditions that delayed play on most of the smaller tennis courts.
Williams won 6-4, 6-2 against Australia’s Daria Gavrilova, ranked 42 in the world, but she was far from her best.
The 34-year-old grew increasingly frustrated as the match wore on, but was rarely threatened by Gavrilova on center court.
A ripping wind delayed the start of most tennis matches on the second day, while even those playing on the more protected Centre Court fell foul to the conditions.
Top-ranked Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, ranked 55 in the world, scraped through into the second round after Germany’s Dustin Brown rolled his ankle and had to retire despite leading 6-4, 4-5.
Gusts of wind also caused havoc with fans as their plastic cups were sent flying and umbrellas at food tables had to be lowered in case they overturned.
In other action, Russia’s Yulia Efimova, who won her appeal against a doping ban on the eve of the Rio Olympics, swam the second-fastest time on Sunday in the heats of the women’s 100 meters breaststroke.
Efimova, the world champion at the distance, clocked 1 minute 5.79 seconds, a hundredth of a second behind American Lilly King whose compatriot Katie Meili was third in 1:06.00 with holder Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania fourth in 1:06.35.
Some jeers rang out in the Olympic Aquatics Stadium after Efimova’s heat.
Revelations of state-sponsored Russian doping overshadowed the buildup to the Olympics. Efimova was one of a number of Russians who successfully appealed, arguing that after serving previous doping bans they should not be punished again by being excluded from Rio.
The 24-year-old, the world champion at 100m, only learned on Friday that she could compete, ending months of uncertainty.
Efimova’s involvement is a delicate issue with her rivals.
Asked about the prospect of meeting her in Monday’s final, King said: “You know I think it’s unfortunate we have to deal with these things in the sport, but both Katie [Meili] and I were very prepared for her to be swimming so we’re just going to race her just like we would normally.”
Pressed on whether it was fair that Efimova was competing, she said: “You know, I’m going to stay out of it, but a level playing field would be preferred.”
Efimova is also due to compete in the 200m breaststroke, in which she was world champion in 2013 and won a bronze medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
Efimova was banned between October 2013 and February 2015 after testing positive for traces of the anabolic steroid DHEA. She was also briefly suspended after testing positive for meldonium this year, but cleared in July.
Meldonium was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances from January 1, but some positive tests were later overturned after WADA said there was a lack of clear scientific evidence about how long it takes for the drug to be excreted from the body. (Reuters)