Venus Williams brings her best game to defeat the newcomer Belinda Bencic 63 64. She’s now in round four of the Open for the 13th time in her career.
It was 1997 when Venus Williams made her debut at the US Open, reaching the final and losing it to the then number 1 Martina Hingis in straight sets. Belinda Bencic was only 5 months old at the time.
Eighteen years and 7 Grand Slam titles later, Williams is still competing at the Open, and this time around she’s facing that girl who was just born when she made her first appearance in New York.
Bencic has recently propelled into the public eye by winning at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, defeating four top tens, including Serena Williams, en route to the title. This year she has climbed twenty-one positions in the ranking, rising from number 33 to the 12th position in the ranking and getting often referred to as the future number one. Heads to heads are in favor of Williams, who has won all their three previous encounters dropping no more than four games per set. Bencic, however, is the odds-on favorite regardless of their history and of the struggles she had in defeating Misaki Doi in round 2, having to save three match points in a row. Venus’ path was not an easy one either, coming victorious of both Puig and Falconi only in the decider.
The stadium is packed as the two players approach the court for what is expected to be the most interesting third round match on the women’s draw, and probably a handover between a great champion and one still in the making.
In the first set both players hold their service games, Venus with relative ease and Bencic having to save three break points in the sixth games with three aggressive shots. Venus, however, plays amazingly and the break is in the air: in her next service game Bencic gets broken to love, after a bad double-fault on the breakpoint. Williams closes out the set with an ace, her fourth in the set together with sixteen winners to only six unforced errors.
In the second set the young Swiss starts improving her game, going up 4-1 and showing no intention of surrendering to the twice-former champion. Yet, from then on is Venus who takes the spotlight, winning five games in a row and displaying a tennis both fearless and accurate, bringing flashbacks of when she used to be a main contender for the title.
She will now face the winner of Kontaveit versus Brengle, on the road to a possible 26th match against her sister Serena.
