Venus drops Olympic tuneup singles match

WASHINGTON - Venus Williams lost an Olympic tuneup Monday during a World Team Tennis match .

Williams, playing for the Washington Kastles, lost 5-0 to the Boston Lobsters’ Irina Falconi in the women’s singles portion of the match. In the best-of-five games format, Williams - ranked No. 68 - struggled with her serve, double-faulting several times to the 85th-ranked Falconi.

“I think I just cooled down, and I couldn’t quite get started back up again,” Williams said. “In team tennis, you really have to keep your energy up. You have to manage the stop and go. I didn’t manage it that well.”

Williams is trying to prepare for those types of challenges at the London Olympics, which begin July 28 for tennis.