Erratic Venus Survives Opening Round Scare

It is not for nothing that Grand Slams are called the grandest tests for a tennis player. And its also not for nothing that the greatest tennis players are judged by their performance in these tournaments.

The opening round match between the two time US Open champion Venus Williams and the Russian Vera Dushevina was a perfect example. It proved that every single match in a Grand Slam is a tough challenge.

An unknown Russian, facing one of the most dominant tennis players in the opening round of a Grand Slam under the flushing New York lights of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, is an intimidating prospect. Only the slimmest of chances are expected out of you.

This was exactly what the Russian needed to get herself inspired and come out guns blazing.

In a thrilling display of inspired ground strokes, she stood toe to toe with the tall, powerful American putting her under tremendous pressure.

Venus was short of confidence from the start, and looked tentative on her serve, committing numerous double faults in between. Dushevina took full advantage of the same by banging her returns from inside the baseline and keeping Venus under pressure.

Dushevina is a stout girl as well, and at 5’11,” she had sufficient reach to unsettle Venus. Her ground strokes were deep and accurate, while her approaches were well constructed. She planned her points nicely as well, as her infrequent drop shots kept Venus thinking throughout.

After exchanging a couple of breaks in the opening set, the tie-breaker was fascinating, as Dushevina survived it after being down 2-5 at one point to take the opening set.

The second set had breath taking tennis, as Venus found her strokes, while Dushevina gained in confidence as well. Her numerous running backhands were a joy to watch, while Venus’ approaches had become lethal.

The composure of the underdog Russian was worth mentioning, as never during the course of the first two sets did her body language droop or she tried to give up on any point.

Venus had met a worthy competitor in the first round!

In a series of fascinating rallies, most points were stretching to the extreme. But the great champion that Venus is, she dug out till the last moment, and earned that solitary break in the second to level the match.

Her confidence grew in the third, and so did the power on the ground strokes as she overpowered her opponent with a barrage of aces and sensational winners. Dushevina looked to retreat as well, as she was going for broke trying impossible winners and handing off easy points to Venus as a result.

Venus raced off to a 4-0 lead, before slacking a little during the end. Eventually, she won a hard fought match in three sets 6-7, 7-5, 6-3. which went over two and a half hours.

The older Williams sister found the rhythm on her serve, and hit 11 aces, some of which hit a peak of 119 mph. This will really please her, and with Kim Clijsters powering through her first round as well, we have an exciting prospect of a third round clash between the two champions.

Title picture courtesy usopen.org