Venus Williams, 43, earns first win over a top-20 opponent in four years at Cincinnati
Tennis legend Venus Williams on Monday won her first match of the 2023 Western & Southern Open over No. 16 Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 7-5. It's Williams' first victory over a top-20 opponent in four years.
Williams, a wildcard in the tournament, overcame deficits of 4-1 and 4-0 in the first and second sets, respectively, to advance to the round of 32.
"(I was) definitely in some big holes today that I usually don’t play from— I’m usually ahead," Williams said, giggling. "It was definitely different, but that’s tennis and that’s what’s so exciting ... the satisfaction from today is just all the work that goes into just being here at all."
A match plagued by rain delays – one lasting all morning prior to the match, and one in the middle of the second set– finally concluded around 6 p.m., hours later than anticipated. Williams went into the mid-match rain delay down five games to two in the second set, overwhelmingly winning five sets in a row out of the break to take the match.
“I was worried about the rain delay, I’m very traumatized by Auckland and all those rain delays,” Williams said.
At the 2023 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, Williams picked up an injury in the tournament that was similarly plagued with weather delays. Williams said mentally, she was thinking, “Oh my god I can’t let that happen again.”
The 2023 rendition is Williams' 10th singles appearance at the Western & Southern Open, second-most among active players. Her best finish is a semifinal appearance in 2012, and more recently Williams made a quarterfinal run in 2019.
The former World No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion advances to take on the winner of Qinwen Zheng and Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Williams got a text from her younger sister, 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, after the match. Serena appeared in her final Western & Southern Open last August before retirement.
“(Serena) texted me after and had a lot of encouraging words to say” Venus Williams said. “She just is encouraging me to rise to be my best because she believes in me, and she knows what I have inside of me. It’s nice to have her because she knows; she knows what position I’m in and what it’s like to be in this position and she knows what it’s like to have something to give but you need that opportunity. So, it’s nice that she believes in me.”
No. 12 Felix Auger-Aliassime gets back on track
No. 12 Felix Auger Aliassime, who went one-and-done in the Canadian Open on Aug. 8, Citi Open on Aug. 2, Wimbledon on July 3 and in the French Open on May 29, got back on track in the first round of the Western & Southern Open Monday afternoon.
The 23-year-old Canadian drew a tough first-round matchup against Italian Matteo Berrettini, who had beaten him in five consecutive matches. Auger-Aliassime pulled through after dropping the first set, using his aggressiveness to keep Berrettini on the run and serving well to win it, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
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“It’s a tough draw and you have to be ready from the first match to compete, try hard and face adversity. I think I dealt with it pretty well today from a set down,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It was good to get the break early in the second set and start leading in the match again. I’m very happy with the way I handled the match.”
Auger-Aliassime continues to play well at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. He’s reached the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals in each of the last two seasons, falling last year to eventual champion Borna Coric.
He’ll face Adrian Mannarino of France in the second round of the singles draw.
“I feel good about my game. I’m not too far from the best version of myself. At the same time, we’ll see. I need more matches to say, ‘OK, I’m playing great tennis again.’ That’s why today was great, but it’s important to keep going with that same desire and determination,” Auger-Aliassime said. “If I can win more matches this week, I can prove to myself again or confirm what I’ve been feeling which is I’m there and not so far from my best level.”