Venus Williams Starts Strong on Eastbourne Grass

 Former Wimbledon champion, Venus Williams, who owns singles and doubles titles, made her mark in the first rounds at the Aegon International grass courts tournament.

World No. 33 Williams got her comeback off to a great start by beating World No. 11 Andrea Petkovic in three sets in the first round in Eastbourne, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.

The match went on for more than two-and-a-half hours. A little out of form, Williams struggled to convert three match points at 5-3, 40-0.

Williams told the Associated Press, "The courts were so fast. But it's been a real blessing to be in this tournament and I'm now extremely excited I'll be able to play another match."

In their last meeting at the 2011 Australian Open, Petkovic got a walkover win after Williams retired at 1-0 with an injury, the one that kept her out of the rest of the hard and clay court season. At that time their rankings were almost reversed with the eighth-seeded German in the 30s and Williams in the top 10. 

Sister Serena Williams will get on court tomorrow after a year's absence to face Tsvetana Pironkova, who beat Venus to get to the Wimbledon semifinals in 2010.

Meanwhile, Agnieszka Radwanska rolled into the second round with the last women's match of the day, where she defeated Jarmila Gajdosova 7-6 (5), 7-5 despite opponent's 12 aces and strong first serve.

Three-seeded players, Samantha Stosur, Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova, joined Venus in the second round, while eighth-seeded Shahar Peer lost to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in straight sets. 

Tennis Now