Four-time Silicon Valley finalist Venus Williams has been knocked out in the first round after suffering a three-set loss to Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Williams, who was granted a wild card into this year’s event, claimed the opening set before falling 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-1, to her opponent. The world No.50 struggled behind her second serve as she managed to win only 16 out of 46 points. During the match, Williams hit 31 winners to 34 unforced errors and only converted three out of her eight break point opportunities.
“I think maybe she had a magic racquet that couldn’t miss because I definitely put pressure on her and shots where I would expect a short ball it was more like she hit a winner.” wtatennis.com quoted Williams as saying.
“She played freely with nothing to lose…. It was magical tennis from her.”
The win was Mattek-Sands’ first in singles for more than a year. The 34-year-old has suffered from numerous knee issues since seriously injuring it during the 2017 Wimbledon Championships. San Jose is her first singles tournament since the Australian Open back in January.
“Venus is a legend, and it was awesome playing here. I love night matches,” Mattek-Sands said after the match. “I really loved the atmosphere. I’m really enjoying it. It’s been a tough couple of years. I’ve had a few surgeries, I feel like I’ve had 12 surgeries, but I’m feeling really good.”
Following her triumph over Williams, Mattek-Sands will next play Carla Suarez Navarro. The Spanish sixth seed eased her way to a 6-3, 6-3, win over Poland’s Magda Linette.
There were better fortunes for 2010 champion Victoria Azarenka in her first round match. The two-time Australian Open winner rallied to a 6-2, 6-4, win over qualifier Harmony Tan. Coming back from 0-3 down in the second set.
“I felt that it wasn’t going to be easy,” Azarenka told wtatennis.com. “First rounds are obviously not easy, and I haven’t played in a while so I had to get used to the conditions. That was important.
“There were moments where I thought I played really well, and there were moments where I lost that concentration a little bit. But a win is a win, and I have to move forward from here.”
Azarenka is bidding to win her first title of any sort since 2016. She will next play fifth seed Donna Vekic, who ousted Japan’s Misaki Doi in three sets.
