Tennis: Venus Williams wins at Birmingham Classic
BIRMINGHAM, England –
At 43 years old and ranked No. 697, Venus Williams isn’t quite done yet – especially on her favorite grass surface.
Williams upset Camile Giorgi in 48th place 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) after more than three hours at the Birmingham Classic on Monday for her first victory over a top 50 player in nearly four years .
Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and five-time Wimbledon singles winner, was out for six months with a hamstring injury suffered in Auckland in the first week of the year.
On her return last week, she lost to 17-year-old Celine Naef in the first round of the Libema Open in the Netherlands.
Williams said it was “touch and go” to Giorgi.
“There were so many times where I was like, ‘This game is over,’ and she’d fire a shot out of nowhere,” said Williams. “She pushed me to be better than I thought I could be, and it’s been great for me.
“I haven’t played many games and it’s great to get through.”
There were also victories for third-seeded Magda Linette, fifth-seeded Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine and Bernarda Pera of the United States in the Wimbledon warm-up event.
