TENNIS AO15 – Venus Williams fought back from a 4-6 3-5 deficit to battle past Italian Camila Giorgi in three sets with 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-1. Diego Sampaolo
AO2015: Interviews, Results, Order of Play, Draws
Venus Williams survived a big scare when Camila Giorgi was leading 6-4 4-2 0-40 on Venus’s serve but the Italian did not convert three break points. Camila came within two points of winning the match when she was serving for the match at 5-4 but she made a forehand error and committed her 9th double fault. Venus bounced back from the brink of defeat and turned the match around. The US star saved two set points at 5-6 15-40 before clinching the tie-break with 7-3 before winning the decider with 6-1. Giorgi tried to fight back after losing the first two games of the third set when she won a very long third game of 17 minutes after saving seven break points. In the fifth game the young Italian went up 30-0 but she committed her 13th double fault to fall behind 1-4.
Venus collected her 223rd win on the WTA Tour in her legendary career which started in the 1990s.
Williams has reached the second week in a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon 2011. She will take on Agnieszka Radwanska who beat Varvara Lepchenko 6-0 7-5. Lepchenko had a late surge when she rallied from 2-5 down to almost push the match to the decider but Radwanska held on to clinch the second set with 7-5.
Venus leads 5-4 in the previous nine head-to-head matches but Agnieszka won all the last three matches in straight sets since Venus recovered from the Sjogren syndrome which sidelined her for seven months from September 2011 to March 2012. Venus will be looking to qualify for the quarter final in a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2010 US Open.
“This old cat has a few tricks up her sleeve. She wasn’t doing anything wrong She was playing so aggressively. I had never played her before and to play someone of her level for the first time in a major, I didn’t know what to expect”, said Venus Williams in the post-match interview.
“Camila played amazing. I thought she played awesome and just so aggressive. Everything was working for her. I have never played her before, so it’s challenging to get a rhythm against her. It’s challenging to know what the exact plays are. As the match went on I think I was able to get a little bit more settled and figure that out a little bit. But she played great. I just kept trying to get games on my board so hopefully I would get an opening at some point”
Venus went down a break in the second set and faced a triple break point at 4-2 but Venus managed to keep her focus and managed to recover.
“When that was happening, my whole focus was: “Let me try to hold serve instead of saying: It’s almost over. I felt like I had some chances on the 5-4 return game. In the second set I just felt like if I play one or two points better then I am in there.
“It feels fantastic to reach the second week. Especially when things happen in your life and it’s not in your control. It just feels awesome to be here but I don’t want to leave it at that. I will try to keep going”, continued Venus.
Venus started her career against players who are now long retired and now faces rivals who are much younger than her.
“I think we talk maybe more about the players we see that aren’t playing anymore. We just can’t figure out how we are still here. That’s probably more on our mind. When you walk on that court, there is no such thing as age, height, any of that stuff. It’s really an even playing field. It’s a matter of: Can you get the ball in ? Can you win the point or not. It does not matter any of those variables. That’s what they are: I don’t think that enters our mind out there”
Venus praised Camila Giorgi saying that she is a potential to become a top-10 player. “I think that she has a potential for sure. She has a big game. She has motivation. She looks like she is working hard. She is moving up the rankings. I think the more she plays, she is going to learn. It’s about dealing with the pressure. I think that’s one of the hardest things to learn to do. Every point of the match. Every day that you are playing, it’s not easy for any player.
Venus’ sister Serena also got through to the fourth round. Serena fought back from a set down to overcome Elina Svitolina from the Ukraine in three sets with 4-6 6-2 6-0 to set up a fourth round against Garbine Muguruza who beat Swiss Timea Bacsinszky in three sets. It will be a re-match of the second round clash at last year’s Roland Garros where the young Spanish player upset Serena.
The last time both Williams’ sisters reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, Serena lift her fifth her fifth and last Trophy at Melbourne Park in 2010. She failed to advance the fourth round in 2012 and 2014 and was knocked out in the quarter final in 2013.
Viktoria Azarenka followed up her wins against Sloane Stephens and Caroline Wozniacki with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova to set up a fourth round match against last year’s Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova. Azarenka built up a 6-4 3-0 lead but Zahlavova Strycova clawed her way into the match by drawing level to 3-3. Azarenka broke serve in the seventh game for 4-3 but the Czech player broke straight back to draw level to 4-4. Azarenka broke again for 5-4 before serving out for the match in straight sets. Azarenka clinched 21 of her last 22 matches in Melbourne after winning two titles in 2012 and 2013 and losing to Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarter final in 2014. Her next match rival Cibulkova beat France’s Alizé Cornet 7-5 6-2. Cornet earned four set points at 5-3 and two more at 5-4 in the opening set and went up 2-0 in the second set but Cibulkova fended off all six set points and fought back in the second set by reeling off six consecutive games.
