RIO DE JANEIRO >>Defending champion Kerri Walsh Jennings and her new partner, April Ross, easily won their opening beach volleyball match with a 21-14, 21-13 victory over Australia. The match that began at 12:34 a.m. took just 35 minutes.

Fellow Americans Casey Patterson and Jake Gibb also won their opener Saturday, beating Qatar 21-16, 21-16 on a day U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited one of the Olympics most festive venues.

A DJ spun a samba beat inside as thousands cheered on their home teams. Outside, beachgoers cooled themselves under an umbrella at one of the many open-air kiosks serving food, beer and the local sugar cane cocktail, caipirinha.