Venus Williams evades an upset against Aleksandra Wozniak in third round – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Labouring hard to get back her vintage form, former world number one, Venus Williams, went through a gruelling competition against Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday. The American
wildcard entrant, Venus, fought out a match point to turn the tables on the 65th ranked Wozniak to formulate a three-set victory at 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).
The local crowd at Miami, Florida, came out to witness the 31-year-old veteran in action after a long illness layoff. Venus provided sheer entertainment to her home crowd, stamping her authority over the game in the very last moment
of the contest to come out as the winner. She dropped the opening set early in the match to fall on the back foot but kept pushing hard at her 24-year-old opponent to force her way back in the second set.
The decisive third set went to the wire, with both players straining desperately to edge past her opponent but the Canadian youngster squandered away a golden opportunity in the tie breaker round to lose the advantage. She was
serving for the match at 5-4 in the tie-breaker but it was the experience and sheer class of the American tennis icon which toppled Wozniak and took her through to victory in style.
"It was tough out there. It was made even tougher because she played well. I don't know if I've ever seen her play as well as she did. I have to give her a lot of credit. She had match point?" Venus said when asked about it. "Thank
God I'm oblivious to the score a lot of times. Oh my God, that's not good news. But I really tried not to let anything discourage me today. I kept thinking about how I really needed this match and those points. When things look bleak, I think about the Olympics.
It keeps me motivated."
Venus’ victory has booked her a date with the other former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, in the fourth round of the tournament. Ivanovic disposed of Daniela Hantuchova in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6(2), in the third round draw to
meet Venus.
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