The seven-time major singles champion triumphed 6-4 7-5 over 16th-ranked Veronika Kudermetova to win a US tournament match for the first time in more than three years; watch the US Open - live on Sky Sports - from Monday, August 28
Tuesday 15 August 2023 09:23, UK
Venus Williams beat a top-20 player for the first time in four years as the 43-year-old fought back from a double break down in each set to beat Veronika Kudermetova in the Cincinnati Open.
The seven-time major singles champion triumphed 6-4 7-5 over the 16th-ranked Russian, celebrating winning a match at a US tournament for the first time in more than three years.
Kudermetova held a 4-1 lead in both sets before Williams stormed back in each. The veteran American also saved two set points after being down 5-2 in the second set en route to winning the last six games of the match.
"I love this game, it's what I do," Williams said after the win. "The last few years have been difficult in terms of injuries but I love to be out here, be strong and be myself. I'm getting there."
Williams won 29 of her 45 first-service points (64.4 per cent) and converted six of nine break-point opportunities to earn her first win over a top-20 player in 11 attempts.
Ranked 533rd in the world, Williams will play China's Qinwen Zheng or Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round as the former world No 1 now looks to win back-to-back matches on the WTA Tour for the first time since the 2019 event in Cincinnati.
That was also the tournament when she last won against a top-20 opponent, beating then world No 5 Kiki Bertens on her way to the quarter-finals.
The Cincinnati Open is one of the key tournaments on the American hard-court circuit which culminates at the US Open. The final Grand Slam event of the season starts in New York on Monday, August 28 - live on Sky Sports.
Williams' hopes of competing in the Australian Open in January were dashed after she suffered a hamstring problem at the rain-hit Auckland Classic leading up to the season-opening slam.
She only returned to action in June after deciding to skip competing in the French Open. She then injured her right knee in a first-round defeat to Elina Svitolina at Wimbledon last month.
