Serena and Venus Williams knocked out of doubles’ play by Czech duo at US Open
The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, were playing doubles in the finals of the US Open in New York.
The two-time Grand Slam champions had just been beaten by Czech players Lukáš Rosol and Àlex Corretja in a match to decide a place in the Wimbledon final.
But the women’s doubles match suddenly turned into a battle royal as the Williams sisters looked to claim the points by winning all four sets.
With Rosol and Corretja serving for the match at 5-2, Serena and Venus were suddenly forced to save three match points against the sisters.
The Williams sisters had the game to save two of those games but three of them were lost to the Czech pair, who served three match points in the last game.
It was a major upset, with the Czech duo now into the Wimbledon finals as world number two seeds.
World number 1 Kim Clijsters beat her sister and world number three Agnieszka Radwanska to end a 24-match win streak in women’s doubles in straight sets, in a 6-4, 6-0 win at the US Open.
The match was watched on television by around 3.7 million viewers.
Serena took the lead with a break of Agnieszka’s serve, with a double from her sister providing the opportunity for a break, before Venus gave the American the break with a break of her own.
The Williams sisters were then unable to hold a service game against the Czech pair, who won all four of their sets.
The Williams sisters were a world number one for three years, from 2002 until 2004 in the world rankings. They then went on to be world number one for the next six years, from 2005 until 2009.
It is a record, as Serena and Venus were the first sisters to be world number one in the rankings.
Agnieszka Radwanska was world number three in the