Tennis Roundup: At 43, Venus Williams has still got it
Birmingham, June 20
At age 43 and ranked No. 697, Venus Williams isn’t done quite yet especially on her favoured surface of grass.
Williams upset 48th-ranked Camila Giorgi 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(6) after more than three hours at the Birmingham Classic on Monday for her first victory over a player in the top-50 in nearly four years.
Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and five-time winner of the Wimbledon singles, was out for six months because of a hamstring injury sustained in Auckland in the first week of the year.
On her return last week, she lost to 17-year-old Celine Naef in the first round of the Libema Open in the Netherlands.
Williams said it was “touch and go” against Giorgi.
“There were so many moments where I thought, ‘this match is over,’ then she would hit a shot from out of nowhere,” Williams said. “She pushed me to be better than what I thought I could be, and it’s great for me. I haven’t played a lot of matches, and it’s great to come through.”
Wins for Tsitsipas, Medvedev in Halle
Halle: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Denis Shapovalov progressed from the first round of the Halle Open, though some had an easier time at the grasscourt tournament.
The second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas needed 2 hours, 22 minutes before he eventually prevailed against French player Gregoire Barrere 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6 (3).
Tsitsipas, who was upset by veteran French player Richard Gasquet in Stuttgart last week, was headed for another loss as he trailed by a set and a break at 3-1 down in the second set, but he recovered for a second-round meeting with Nicolas Jarry.
Top-seeded Medvedev, who lost last year’s final, defeated American qualifier Marcos Giron 6-4 6-3. Shapovalov beat South African Lloyd Harris 7-6(1) 6-4.
Norrie opens with win
London: Former finalist Cameron Norrie launched his bid to win the grasscourt Queen’s Club Championship on home soil by beating Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 6-4 7-6(5) on Monday.
Sixth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy beat British wildcard Jan Choinski 6-4 6-2. Ben Shelton of the United States and Diego Schwartzman of Argentina also progressed to the second round.
British tennis fans are in for an extra treat this week, with Andy Murray also competing and top seed Carlos making his debut at Queen’s. AP
