Venus Williams in Wonderful Form VS Duan Ying-Ying
Having been one of the most decorated players in the female circuit, it was no surprise to see Venus Williams smash through her latest test, Chinese start Duan Ying-Ying. Having finished the match in under an hour, Venus sent out an impressive message to the rest of the Australian Open; watch out.
This was the tenth time that Venus has made it to the fourth round of the prestigious Australian competition. Indeed, before the match Williams was rather dismissive of her opponent, admitting she knew very little of her Chinese counterpart. In the end, though, words didn’t matter as Venus casually finished the match off with the minimum of fuss.
With a 6-1, 6-0 victory, she made quick work of her opponent before moving on to the next round of the tournament. At the Margaret Court Arena, Williams dialled back the years as she put on a vintage display to dismiss her opponent long before it ever threatened to turn into a competitive match. Now, she heads on to take on Mona Barthel, who was the victor over Ashleigh Barty, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 respectively.
Pundits are expecting this to be a much closer match than taking on Ying-Ying, with a much closer battle expected this time with Barthel.
Having been a victor at the Australian Open in 2003, Williams brings a glut of experience that few others on the circuit can rely upon at this stage of a tournament. Her big-game enterprise told off here, as she broke time and time again against a poor backhand attempt by Duan.
Indeed, Duan even began the second set by dropping service, looking far out of her comfort zone at this level. In the end, Williams only surrendered another 8 points en route to a comfortable finish that left the next round progression a formality.
Williams, though, was very complimentary of her opponent. Speaking after the match, she said that her opponent had given a tougher match than it may have appeared to viewers.
“You can see that she wants to win. We had some really long games that I think were pivotal, very important for the match. Two-love in the first set. One-love in the second set. We were just fighting back and forth.
“This is her first time in the third round. It’s a lot of pressure. Having the opportunity to play this third round, play against a player of my experience, is going to be a huge stepping stone for her. She’s got talent. She’s in the Top 100. It’s perfect for women’s tennis.”
The next round will be a far tighter affair, though, with the impressive Barthel a much closer match.
