SOCHI, Russia -- Canada made a stuttering start to the defence of its Olympic curling title on Monday, following up a scrappy win over unheralded Germany with a surprise loss to Switzerland on a sobering day for the big gold-medal favourites.
"It was pretty ugly, to be honest," said Brad Jacobs, who is skip of the team that is seeking Canada's third consecutive men's Olympic gold medal.
By the end of opening day, Sweden was the only team 2-for-2, with wins in tough matches against the Swiss and Britain at the Ice Cube Curling Center at the Sochi Games.
After sweeping through the Canadian Olympic trials unbeaten, Jacobs' team from Sault.Ste. marie, Ont., was widely seen as the overwhelming favourites for the games.
But Canada was sloppy in beating Germany 11-8 in the morning and then was upset 5-4 by Switzerland in the evening, giving plenty of hope to their rivals for the gold.
