Venus Williams trounces Iveta Benesova in round one – Family Circle Cup 2012
Local wild card entrant, Venus Williams, stomped over the Czech rising star, Iveta Benesova, in straight sets at the Family Circle Cup 2012 on Tuesday. She nudged up a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the world number 44 to secure a place in the second round at this
WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier event held in Charleston, United States.
The former world number one flashed her old self to trash Benesova in their fourth outing. After pocketing the match in one hour and 19 minutes, Williams not only improved to a 4-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series against the Czech but also booked a spot
in the second round.
"My serve felt great," Williams said. "I was still adjusting to the surface. Every clay court plays differently, the stadium can play different from the grandstand, I hadn't played on stadium yet, and you don't really slide a lot on that court anyway, so
I was just getting the feel of the footing. But it was a good start. I feel calmer here. I feel more match tough, as they say. Hopefully the whirlwind will die down and I'll hopefully get used to getting a lot of wins."
The 31-year-old made a nervy entry at the Family Circle Tennis Center and suffered the first blow in the opening game to trail at 0-1. However, she quickly grasped her break back in the very next game and maintained her intensity after that to pluck remaining
without facing any breakpoint. Williams got the breakthrough in the last game and pulled out the opener with a 6-4 win.
Currently ranked 87th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Williams carried her rhythm in the following set and held her serve in the opening game. The American then swiped in remaining serves after defending both breakpoints she faced and capitalised
on one out of five break chances to clinch the set with a 6-3 score line.
The American veteran made a comeback at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami last month. She missed out seven months before hitting the ball at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. Williams stunned Petra Kvitova and Ana Ivanovic to reach the quarter-finals in Miami
before entering this tournament.
Next up for the wild card is the seventh seed, Jelena Jankovic, who received a first round bye after being the top eight player of the tournament. Williams can easily overcome anyone if she stay focus and play in a similar way.
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