Venus Williams pockets home her 44th title – Tennis News
Ranked 41st in the WTA Premier Rankings, Venus Williams, secured her 44th career title after she rallied past her Romanian rival, Monica Niculescu, in straight sets at the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open 2012
held at the hard courts of Deco Turf. It was her first WTA title victory in over two and half years.
The American veteran was unseeded at the WTA International Event and prevailed over several higher ranked professionals in the start of the tournament. She battled against the German professional, Mona Barthel and later in the
quarter-finals against the top seeded Italian Roberta Vinci. In the semi-finals, she was drawn against the German, Andrea Petkovic and consolidated her win after a tough three setter, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
In a post match interview Williams told the media, "I had to work so hard to get to the final - the match against Andrea Petkovic in the semi-finals was so challenging, and the two matches before as well, and even my first round
I had to stay really focused. Monica was in her second final here so she obviously feels good on this court. It can be frustrating. She's tricky. Coming to the tournament this week I was just trying to play well. I didn't know if I could win this event, so
to stand here as the winner is a wonderful way for me to end the year."
The right-hander American tennis professional was confident ever since she stepped on the hard courts and unseeded Niculescu never proved to be a tough competition. Williams broke her opponent’s first serve and stamped a 3-0 lead.
This completely crumpled her rival’s confidence and she went through a tough period. Sustaining her dominance the entire time, without facing any challenge. Eventually, she stole the opener with a 6-2 lead.
In the second set, the 25-year-old, Niculescu, started to gain momentum and dissolved the American seniors serve in the third game. The score line levelled down to 2-all in the fourth game and awaking Williams, who got a little
over confident about her former success. She responded back in the sixth game and took a flying start to nudge forward, closing the match with a 6-3 win.
The world number 68, Niculescu battled against the reigning world number one, Victoria Azarenka, last year in the same round but faced an expected defeat. She was unable to contest for all the major Grand Slam Champions this year
and also the London Olympics, due to her injuries. Like Williams’ she is looking forward to win in the upcoming 2013 session.
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