June 20, (THEWILL) – Venus Williams beat Camila Giorgi to achieve her first victory over a top 50 opponent in four years at the WTA event in Birmingham on Monday.
The former world number one defeated Giorgi in a first-round match that lasted three hours and 16 minutes. Williams won 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), converting her second match point in the final set tie-break.
Williams had played a grass-court event in the Netherlands last week for her first tournament appearance since January. The five-time Wimbledon champion hit her stride in spells during an enthralling encounter with Giorgi. Williams might be well into the twilight of her glittering career, but the seven-time Grand Slam champion still relishes the feeling of winning a hard-fought match.
“This one is especially sweet because I have been away from the tour for so long,” she said. “The last couple of years I’ve had little to no matches and that’s very challenging.”
Williams faces a last-16 tie against the Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova or Latvian second seed Jelena Ostapenko.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
