Tennis News

MELBOURNE, Australia – An ageless Venus Williams played remarkable tennis in the high heat of the Australian Open, knocking out a game Kateryna Kozlova, 7-6(5), 7-5.

“Girl, I don’t know,” Venus joked when asked how she got the job done during her on-court interview. “I know how to play tennis, and I like to think I’m good at this. She hasn’t had the years I’ve had, the grey hair I’m dyeing, the wrinkles I’m hiding.”

V never goes out of style.#ausopen pic.twitter.com/jUf4wJ9eeN

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2017

Seeded No.13, Venus was playing just her second match of 2017 after withdrawing from the ASB Classic due to right-arm pain, and was taking on a tricky opponent in Kozlova, who took her to three sets at the US Open last summer. In an ironic twist, the 22-year-old was born the same year Venus turned pro back in 1994.

“You’re trying to make me feel old!” joked Williams.

Kozlova served for the first set but the seven-time Grand Slam champion’s experience shone through when it mattered most, breaking the young Ukrainian to win the ensuing tie-break.

“Just from the warm-up it looked like she was just ready to go, hitting it solid,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I really have to give her a lot of credit for playing a match that was not a lot of errors and just relentless.

“I guess when I walk out there I have to expect that from my opponents and not an easy first round, but a great first round to get through, for sure.”

She twirls her way to 2R. Go #Venus #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/hzCSYDY3Jp

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2017

Venus appeared to struggle with the heat at times, relying on ice towels to keep cool during the changeovers.

“I’m a Floridian, so I’m pretty good with heat,” she admitted. “But obviously, if it’s going to be hot, I think with players, you can train in the heat the week before. This last week it was kind of cool, actually, a lot of the time. So it’s definitely a wildcard, like, total wildcard.”

Despite losing some momentum in the second set, the American rebounded to take the last three games of the match and advance into the second round after just over two hours.

Up next for the former World No.1 is either Stefanie Voegele or Kurumi Nara.

A wonderful start for #Venus #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/QVhFuaUdDg

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2017

Through to the quarterfinals at this week’s Rogers Cup in Montréal, British No.1 Johanna Konta is closing in on making her WTA Top 10 debut.

Konta will face Kristina Kucova, a qualifier fresh off a surprise win over hometown favorite Eugenie Bouchard Thursday night, in the second night match on Central. Depending on how the day unfolds, Konta could possibly secure a Top 10 spot with a win over Kucova.

But Konta’s climb also depends on Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded No.9 in Montréal, and her upcoming quarterfinal result against No.5 seed Simona Halep. A look at the scenarios:

• If Kuznetsova loses, Konta can secure a Top 10 spot with a win over Kucova tonight.
• A win by Kuznetsova, would mean Konta must reach the final this week to move into the Top 10.
• Konta would face the winner of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Madison Keys in the semifinals.

It has been 32 years since the Top 10 included a British woman, when Jo Durie graced the Top 10 (week of August 20, 1984) at No.10 before dropping out following a first round loss at the 1984 US Open.

Only three British woman have found their way to the Top 10: Virginia Wade (career-high of No.2), Sue Barker (career-high of No.3) and Durie (career-high of No.5).

Carla Suárez Navarro and Dominika Cibulkova will both drop out of the Top 10 after Montreal.