Venus through to the quarter-finals

Venus hurries through to quarters

Venus Williams has overcome a sluggish start to progress to the quarter-finals of Australian Open 2010 on Monday. After dropping the first set to Francesca Schiavone, the No.6 seed was forced to lift and eventually hit form, winning 3-6 6-2 6-1. Venus, who has been over-shadowed in the lead-up to the tournament by little sister Serena, is showing that she remains a challenger to the big names in the women’s draw by approaching her best at the business end of the tournament.

Given Schiavone had lost all five previous encounters between the pair, the Italian was always facing an uphill battle to get past Williams. Surprisingly though, it was the gutsy Schiavone who took the game up to her opponent, not allowing the American to dominate despite conceding some 19cm in height. The stubborn resistance allowed her to coast away from a rusty Williams, who hit just three winners for the first set against 14 winners. After being gifted another break with consecutive double-faults, Schiavone sealed the set with an ace and looked set to cause another upset in the women’s draw, having already eliminated 10th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the previous round.

In between sets, Williams took a personal break and returned a different player. Despite being broken early, the 2003 runner-up lifted a gear and began to look like the Venus of old, her heavy groundstrokes sending the dogged Schiavone scrambling. Williams pushed the match to a third set with a searing backhand pass, taking the momentum and confidence away from the 17th seed.

The third set began with Schiavone breaking Williams’ opening service game, but that’s where her challenge ended. Williams’ dominance from the baseline was brutal as she reeled off the next six games to run away with the decider in just 33 minutes.

Williams admitted that she was pushed by the gritty Italian.

“She played really well in the first set, I have to give her credit,” Williams said.

“She just played really aggressively. You know, she was making her shots, doing everything she needed to do to win the match.

“But, you know, obviously it takes a lot to close out a match, especially on an important match like that one. I was able just to get some footing back in and start to execute the way I wanted to.”

Having served at just 52 per cent for the match and dropping her opening service game of each set, Williams will need to lift to get past the in-form Na Li, who crushed No.4 seed Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets on Monday. Li’s win means China has two players in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first time, and she looms as a tricky hurdle for Williams before yet another possible semi-final against her top-seeded sibling.

Williams was blunt when asked what she could do to defeat Serena, who has won the past four matches between the pair.

“Play better,” she said.

“I think it's challenging because we're both so good. We both want to win.”

The Australian Open has been a tough major for Williams, with only one final appearance in a glittering career that has seen her win five Wimbledon titles and two US Opens. She may have entered the tournament with little fanfare, but Venus is lurking as a potential threat when it matters most.

Fast facts

- Williams had 29 unforced errors to Schiavone’s 32, and the American had 24 winners to the Italian’s 22.

- Williams came to the net on 32 occasions, winning 26 of those points.

- Schiavone served at 63 per cent on first serves, but won just 46 per cent of those points.

Current Match on Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena - Women's Singles - 4th Round Francesca Schiavone ITA (17) 6 2 1 Venus Williams USA (6) 3 6 6 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Pictures: 2009 Miami Players Party [Updated]

Here are some pics from the players party to kick off the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. For the hot and/or skankily dressed WTA ladies at the party, click here ;)

I'm loving Maria Sharapova's "plastic doll" look, though her dress is kindof a hot mess.

Heaps of high quality pictures from the Miami players party below! Updated photos include: Rafael Nadal, James Blake, Novak Djokovic, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova, Serena and Venus Williams.

Photos: Venus finally wins title on clay in Acapulco!

Venus Williams demolished Flavia Pennetta 6-1, 6-2 in the final of the 2009 Acapulco Open in Mexico to win her first title on clay since May 2005. Venus also ties the head-to-head against Pennetta at 3-3.

The scoreline is just :amaze: Venus usually sucks on clay and had a losing h2h against Flavia, so to thrash her like that is just unbelievable! If she can find the consistency with her serve and forehand like she did in todays final, Venus is definitely one of the hot contenders for the French Open. Interesting fact: Venus has won 4 of her last 5 tournaments and 20 of her last 21 matches.

Continue reading for more photos of Venus with the trophy from the 2009 Acapulco final in Mexico.





Venus' last 5 tournaments:
Zurich (Tier II) - WON
SE 2008 Year End Championships - WON
Australian Open (GS) - whoopsie
Dubai (Tier I) - WON
Acapulco (Tier III) - WON

Venus accepts trophy as Team Americas take the JB Group Classic

Team Americas win the JB Group Classic: Gisela Dulko, Venus Williams, Coco Vandeweghe

Tournament: JB Group Classic [Hong Kong]
Category: Exhibition
Date: 10 January 2009

Venus put on another strong performance to lead Team Americas to victory at the JB Group Classic in Hong Kong. Enjoy these photos of the winning team at the trophy presentation ceremony!

More pics below...