Venus Williams’ record-extending 24th appearance in the US Open singles draw came to an early end on Tuesday when she was defeated heavily by Greet Minnen of Belgium in the first round.
Williams, 43, was defeated 6-1, by Minnen at Arthur Ashe Stadium despite being given a wild card entry into the competition. According to Reuters, it was the veteran American’s biggest loss at the US Open since her debut in 1997.
Following her historic 100th US Open match, Williams admitted to reporters that her preparation had been “definitely minimal”. “But I don’t think that it necessarily affected the bulk of my performance.
“I think there are just shots where my footwork wasn’t really there. A lot of backhands I missed where my feet just weren’t there. That’s normal when you don’t spend a lot of time on the court.”
The seven-time grand slam champion had only competed in nine matches at the tour level this year before the competition, winning three of them.
She quickly fell behind 0-4 in the first set against Minnen before tying the score with a hold of serve.
To move Williams around the court, the 26-year-old did a good job of varying her shots. She quickly built a 5-0 lead in the second set after winning the first one, and Williams’ forehand strike into the net quickly gave her the victory.
“I really have to give credit to her,” the former world No. 1 said of her opponent’s performance.
“It was just incredible, honestly. I mean, if she can play like that, you imagine that she can be in the top 10 or perhaps No. 1 or maybe win a grand slam – something like that – if she can play at this level.”
The next opponent for Minnen is world No. 204 Sachia Vickery,, another American, who is attempting to advance to the third round of a grand slam for just the second time in her career.
Source-CNN
