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Williams sisters beat Germans

July 31, 2012

Multiple open tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams have eliminated team Germany from the women's doubles. Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki, themselves top players, fell short in straight sets.

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Serena Williams (L) and her sister Venus Williams, of the U.S., confer during their women's doubles tennis match against Germany's Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki at the All England Lawn Tennis Club during the London 2012 Olympic Games July 31, 2012.
Image: Reuters

Sabine Lisicki and Angelique Kerber could only reach the round of 16 in the women's Olympic doubles at Wimbledon despite being seeded fifth.

Veteran sisters Venus and Serena Williams powered through the first set, winning 6-2 in a little over half an hour.

The second set was a far tighter affair. Lisicki and Kerber immediately broke back to recover a 2-0 deficit and then the game went with serve up until the score stood at 5-5. The US double act then broke serve and finally held their own to win the second set 7-5.

Venus and Serena hit more aces, more winners, fewer unforced errors and fewer double faults in a dominant display as they seek their third Olympic doubles gold medal as a pairing. They won the grand doubles prize in Sydney in 2000 and in Beijing four years ago.

Angelique Kerber (R) and Sabine Lisicki of Germany in action against Venus and Serena Williams of the US in their second round women's doubles match during the London 2012 Olympic Games Tennis competition in Wimbledon, Greater London, Britain, 31 July 2012.
Kerber and Lisicki have known each other for years, though not as long as the Williams sistersImage: picture-alliance/dpa

Still alive individually

Kerber has an immediate chance at partial revenge in the singles competition; she plays Venus Williams in the last 16 on Wednesday. Kerber, seeded seventh overall, demolished Hungary's Timea Babos 6-1, 6-1 in her second round singles encounter earlier on Tuesday.

Lisicki had a tougher time en route to the last 16, surviving a third-set match point to ultimately win 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 against a strong challenge from unseeded Tunisian teenager Ons Jabeur.

"Yeesss!! Saved a match point and then won the third set!!! I love fighting thru those matches! ESP when I'm playing for Germany!" Lisicki wrote on her Twitter account, posting a similar sentiment in German as well.

Lisicki goes on to play Russian star Maria Sharapova on the Wimbledon grass courts in the next round. Last month in the Wimbledon open tournament, Lisicki surprisingly beat Sharapova in straight sets, before losing to her Germany doubles partner and childhood friend Kerber in the quarter-finals.

Author: Mark Hallam
Editor: Matt Zuvela