Vorstellung » That was his fourth punt return score of his career.Ida

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Perhaps it was the 25 mph winds. Or the slower-than-expected hard courts. Or maybe simply that Serena Williams hadnt played a match in a month.Whatever the cause, Williams opened defense of her Olympic singles gold medal with a patchy-at-times 6-4, 6-2 victory over Australias Daria Gavrilova on Sunday, gesturing or yelling at herself as she often does when not all goes her way.Im always frustrated on the court if its not perfect, the American said.Williams had not competed since collecting her Open-era record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Shes now won 19 of her past 20 matches.Seeded No. 1 at the Rio de Janeiro Games, Williams was hardly at her best in the 91-minute contest against Gavrilova, who is ranked 46th and only once has been past the second round at a major tournament.While that match was played in the main stadium, action was delayed because of strong winds for about 2 hours on the eight smaller Olympic courts.I was a little nervous about that, Williams said of her reaction to hearing of the gusty conditions, which she called very intense.Williams compiled 37 unforced errors to 27 winners, and got broken at love while serving for the first set at 5-3, a game that included a tremendously entertaining point.The lengthy exchange featured terrific defense by both women and ended with Williams putting a forehand into the net. Afterward, she leaned over near the net, while Gavrilova dropped to her knees on the court, letting go of her racket.But Williams broke right back in the next game to take the set.The first set, especially, was extremely tricky, Williams said, referring to the wind, but Im glad it kind of slowed down in the second a little bit, so I was able to produce better tennis.Players have noticed that the green courts in Rio play slower and offer higher bounces than hard courts used on the North American circuit leading to the U.S. Open later this month.Fortunately enough, I am a pretty good clay-court player, so Im OK with the slow courts, said Williams, a three-time French Open champion. You have to hit about three or four more shots or just play a little bit better. Its OK. Im getting used to the conditions as a whole.Later Sunday, Williams and her older sister Venus lost an Olympic doubles match for the first time. They are three-time gold medalists as a team, and entered this match with a 15-0 record at the Olympics, but were beaten 6-3, 6-4 by the Czech Republics Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova.On Saturday night, Venus availability for doubles was put in doubt by U.S. womens tennis coach Mary Joe Fernandez, who said the four-time gold medalist and seven-time Grand Slam champion had cramping, dehydration and an upset stomach following a first-round loss in singles.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Rod Carew Twins Jersey . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. Minnesota Twins Gear . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. 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Washingtons relatively easy schedule to start the season is allowing coach Chris Petersen to tinker with his lineups and fine-tune both sides of the ball before beginning Pac-12 play.The Huskies rolled in their debut on Saturday, routing Rutgers 48-13 and improving from No. 14 to No. No. 8 in the AP poll. This is the highest Washington has been ranked since the first full week of November 2001.The teams second game this season shouldnt be much different than the first. Washington is favored by about five touchdowns in advance of Saturdays matchup against Idaho at Husky Stadium in Seattle at 5 p.m. ET.Idaho opened with a 20-17 home victory over Montana State of the Football Championship Subdivision. The Vandals will move down to the FCS level, starting in 2018.Overall, Washington used 71 players against Rutgers, including 16 making their college debuts. The Huskies were happy to see the return of wide receiver John Ross, who missed last season because of an ACL injury.The junior speedster caught five passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns, also returning a kickoff 92 yards for a score. Ross has 10 career touchdowns of 50 yards or longer. He adds quite a bit to the attack, said offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith.If we find him isolated at any time, you feel like youve got a winner there, Smith said. That adds a big dimension.Washington had the best defense in the Pac-12 last season (allowing 18.8 points per game) while the offense found its footing behind a pair of true freshmen -- quarterback Jake Browning and running back Myles Gaskin.The Huskies have averaged 47.25 points in their last four games -- Oregon State, Washington State, Southern Miss and Rutgers. But Washington ran for just 91 yards against the Scarlet Knights, averaging 3.0 per carry. Gaskins finished with 57 yards on 15 carries.Weve got some work to do there, Petersen said.Thats the style of our offense. If people are going to load up and bring those safeties downhill and try to stop the run, then hopefully we can throw the ball a litttle bit over their heads.dddddddddddd. Its a cat-and-mouse game. But I think we can run the ball better. I would hope so.Browning completed 18 of 27 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. He connected with Ross on scoring throws of 38 and 50 yards in the first quarter as Washington took a 24-0 lead. Being more productive on deep passes was an offseason emphasis.Jake made some good throws on deep passes early, so we were pleased with that, Smith said.By the end of the third quarter, the Huskies were using mostly second- and third-stringers, giving them valuable experience for later in the season. Sophomore K.J. Carta-Samuels relieved Browning late in the third quarter, throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass on his first play.Junior receiver Dante Pettis, the son of former major-leaguer Gary Pettis, scored on a punt return against Rutgers. That was his fourth punt return score of his career.Idaho rushed for 225 yards in its opener, led by junior running back Aaron Duckworth, who 108 yards on 14 carries, scoring twice. Quarterback Matt Linehan ran for 41 yards, but he completed just 8 of 22 passes for 128 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. Hell go against a secondary that features a pair of returning All-Pac-12 players -- safety Budda Baker and cornerback Sidney Jones.The Vandals held Montana State to 110 yards on the ground.Thats the best defense weve played since Ive been here, coach Paul Petrino said after the victory. Our defense really stepped up. Offensively, we rushed for 225 yards. We found two ways to win. Thats the most important thing.Washington has won 18 consecutive games against Idaho, dating to a tie in 1938.Washington wraps up its nonconference schedule against Portland State, an FCS program, on Sept. 17 -- another game that likely means more playing time for the reserves. The Huskies begin Pac-12 play at Arizona on Sept. 24. ' ' '