Venus Returns to Action With Win Over Petkovic
Venus Williams, returning from an injury absence, took on Andrea Petkovic Monday at Eastbourne to start her Wimbledon preparations. She withdrew from the third-round in the Australian five months ago after sustaining a hip injury which forced her to retire against Petkovic after just one game. Returning to Eastbourne, she took on Petkovic, a second time, seeking redemption and took the match, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
“It felt fitting, I guess,” Williams said after playing Petkovic again. “It was a great way to start it all off.”
Williams did not play her strongest, taking multiple double faults and starting the match with many forehand unforced errors. After failing to turn three match points into a victory, she saved a break point and clinched the match when a forehand went wide by Petkovic. Overall, Williams put some blame on the damp and windy air of England’s southeast coast which contributed to her poor gameplay. Petkovic was a quarterfinalist in Melbourne and was risen to number 11 in the rankings and by no means failed to give Williams her all. Petkovic could not handle the aggresive hitting of Williams and in the end did not come up with enough to move on to the second round.
To conclude the match, Williams said, “I was extremely excited to come back with the win. More than anything, I was just really extremely excited to have the opportunity to play another match."
Venus’s sister Serena will also make her return to play after a year out on Tuesday against Tsvetana Pironkova.
