Venus Williams is all set to begin with her Australian Open campaign against #87 seed Kirsten Flipkens. The 40-year-old is wise enough to admit that she still has things to learn after such a prolonged career. In fact, she has been taking those notes from the youngsters clashing in the ATP Cup 2021.
This year, the ATP Cup was everything but regular. That the Italian team knocked out the defending champion while Rafael Nadal sat out the entire tournament, owing to back stiffness, and his side could do only so much without him. But who led this defeat of Spain? Matteo Berrettini.
When Venus Williams could not stop herself from praising the young guns
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Just a day ago, Matteo Berrettini had played his semi-final draw against Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut. He won the game 6-3, 7-5 without dropping a set in a hard-fought game. At one point towards the end of the second and the decisive set, both Berrettini and Bautista played a phenomenal rally.
A deep corner return by Berrettini followed by a miscalculated volley by Bautista forced both of them to play tweeners. It was perfection, and Berrettini eventually won the battle.
First, take a look at the crazy rally and then see how Venus reacted to it on her Instagram –
Just like anyone else out there, she too enjoyed a fan moment watching this clip of world-class tennis.
What are the chances for the veteran to shine in AO 2021?
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Venus’ first-round US Open 2020 loss against Karolina Muchova and then the same result in the French Open 2020 was really disheartening. In fact, starting with the US Open, she had lost all her matches in straight sets.
The last memory of her putting on a great fight was during the Top Seed Open (Round 16) in August. It was her clash with sister Serena Williams, where she won the first set and then gave away the last two to lose the match.
However, chances are she can turn that fate in this year’s Australian Open and go deeper into the draw. After all, everyone awaits a mouthwatering Williams sister clash whatever be the outcome.
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Do you think Venus Williams’ new inspiration in the younger Matteo Berrettini (who later lost the finals to Russian Daniil Medvedev) can help her reach quarters?
Read More– Venus Williams Creates Astonishing Record Which Even Serena Williams Might Not Break