Venus Williams faced Italy's Camila Giorgi for over three hours before merging victorious at the Birmingham Classic this weekend.
Despite facing an emotional moment and requiring a medical timeout merely five games into the match, Williams persevered with her heavily strapped right knee. The 43-year-old showed immense determination and fought her way to a 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) win.
QUEEN VEE THINGS!!! 👑@Venuseswilliams ousts Giorgi in a three-set thriller, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(6) in Birmingham!#RothesayClassic pic.twitter.com/aajuL9YMSz
— wta (@WTA) June 19, 2023
Williams' win makes it her second singles victory in almost two years after lengthy injury lay-offs. “This one is especially sweet because I have been away from the tour for so long,” she told BBC. “The last couple of years I’ve had little to no matches and long stretches between matches and that’s very challenging.
While Giorgi, a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist, is known to be very much at home on grass, Williams remained a formidable force with her strikes, including a serve that reached speeds of up to 120mph.
"I hit some 120mph serves and I haven't done that in a couple of years - I was like, I've missed you!" Williams said after the match. "I thought I played well today and she did too. I'm surprised she's not number one in the world.
"There were so many moments where I thought the match was over and she hit a shot out of nowhere so she pushed me to be better than what I thought I could be."
Williams seemed to have captured the majority of the Birmingham crowd's support, and the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion is now ranked 679.
Venus Williams, age 43 and ranked No. 697, pulls off surprising win at Birmingham Classichttps://t.co/FEb14yyaxf pic.twitter.com/pW9vII6QSv
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) June 20, 2023
“I almost feel like when I’m on the court I’m reminded of things I used to do that worked really well, so there’s a lot of memories and deja vu – I’ve never had that experience before. I felt like I played well the whole match and that felt great.
“Tennis is awesome. There’s so many people that would love to do what I’m doing right now so I don’t take it for granted. I faced some huge challenges in the match. I thought I didn’t do much wrong and I found myself still not winning. I think that brought the emotion out.”
