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The third day of the Western and Southern Open saw 16th seed Dayana Yastremska prevail over Venus Williams. However, victory wasn’t easy as the Ukrainian played through severe pain in her ankle. The situation was bad enough for her to consider withdrawing from the game. However, she held on and “really wanted to finish that match” irrespective of the result.

I really wanted to finish that match even with the pain, and it wasn’t gonna matter for me if I’m gonna win or I’m gonna lose”, said Yastremska.

She admits she had good opportunities in the first set to play a lot better. However, the twisted ankle drifted her mind from the match to the injury.

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When I twisted my ankle, to be honest, my mind completely went other way. I started to think just about the pain and what is gonna be next”, she continued.

Dayana Yastremska has a mountain to climb ahead after defeating Venus Williams

Yastremska came from behind to defeat the veteran Venus Williams. The 20-year-old was bold in character to stand through pain to overturn the game on its head. Losing the first set 7-5 to Williams and her discomfort, she came back strong to steer clear to victory. Wining the following sets 6-2 and 7-5 she showed her strong character and grit.

Yastremska will be facing another American Bernarda Pera in the round of 32, Pera was clinical in the three-set victory against Heather Watson of Great Britain. If she proceeds to the next round she has the opportunity to face 4th seeded Naomi Osaka which is going to be a big test for her.

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Yastremska showed quite a fighting spirit in the court against Venus. Even when she was overcome with severe pain, she decided to carry on with the match. Hopefully, her injuries would wear off before the next round. The Ukrainian is seeded 19th in the upcoming US Open. In 2019, she went all the way to the 3rd round in the US Open. She is hopeful of delivering even better performance this time.

Read More- Caroline Wozniacki Accuses Dayana Yastremska of Faking an Injury at Australian Open 2020

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