Venus Williams starts her 24th Wimbledon campaign against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. The 43-year-old notched up a promising win against Camila Giorgi before arriving in London. There’s a lot of hype around this match as Svitolina is also looking to find her form after making a return a few months ago following her pregnancy. Svitolina’s grit and determination against Williams’ years of experience and grass-court excellence promises to be a thrilling encounter.
Unsurprisingly, the match takes place at the Centre Court. After defending champion Novak Djokovic’s opener, the seven-time major champion locks horns with the Ukrainian for their much-awaited first-round clash. However, early into the match, Williams survived a scary moment.
Venus Williams survives a nasty fall
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The American started the match really well. She held her serve and broke the Ukrainian instantly. However, Williams found herself defending a breakpoint in the very next game. What happened next was pretty nasty. Williams was approaching the net to finish off the point with a volley but she slipped inside the forecourt. The point and the game were conceded but her fall was scary. She let out a loud shriek which silenced the crowd.
Venus Williams went down on the court after slipping near the net.
She returned to play after taking an injury timeout. pic.twitter.com/h3zXL7Evc1
— ESPN (@espn) July 3, 2023
It reminded fans of Serena Williams’ fall at 2021 Wimbledon which led to an ankle injury. Serena Williams was forced to retire in her first-round encounter against Aliaksandra Sasnovich following the injury. The tension grows among the fans as Venus’ trainer looks after her already strapped knee.
Oh no, this is terrible.
Venus Williams just slipped at net and went down clutching her strapped knee.
She was crying out in pain, but has now been able to get up and walk unaided to the chair. Trainer has been called.
— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) July 3, 2023
Venus felt like she was good to go and was ready without taking much time. However, she lost all her momentum from the opening two games. Svitolina held to love the very next game and broke Venus’ serve immediately.
Venus Williams failed to find her form for the remainder of the set. She managed to hold her serve for two more games but could not quite break her opponent’s. Despite having a couple of break points in the final game, she could not convert them and the Ukrainian prevailed 6-4 in the opener.
Starting strong.
Elina Svitolina takes the first set against Venus Williams 6-4#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/DzAGiUI9LO
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2023
Venus did not look quite fit towards the end of the set and asked for a medical timeout after the set. However, medical help could not rescue the former world number 1.
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Svitolina gains complete control of the match
Williams was instantly broken in the first game of the second set. Svitolina dominated the set and extended her lead to 5-1. The crowd backed Venus and every point won by the 43-year-old received a large round of applause.
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Venus held her serve after being 1-5 down and broke Svitolina’s serve. The crowd was up and running again, cheering for Williams. But, little did they know that Venus’ 2023 Wimbledon journey would end here. She failed to hold her serve which resulted in a 6-4 6-3?win for the Ukrainian. Out of respect for the legend, Svitolina did not celebrate after winning the match. Venus had a broad smile on her face and the two players ended the proceedings with a warm embrace at the net.
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