Venus Williams was relieved after finally winning a match on grass, her first since the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.
It was a really entertaining match that went over three hours between two players that can play electrifying tennis. Venus dealt with a lot of things in this one requiring an early medical timeout due to a knee issue. A tumble a few games later saw her hit the ground hard but she kept going.
It was a true iconic moment for the 43-year-old who managed to outplay Camila Giorgi down the stretch and win the match in three sets. Her first win since January, her first grass win since the 2021 Wimbledon, and just generally a really good performance. As many pointed out, Williams still strikes the ball really well though the movement isn't what it used to be.
I thought I played really well today, and she played incredible. I'm so surprised she's not No.1 in the world. There were so many moments where I thought, 'This match is over,' then she would hit a shot from out of nowhere.
The match saw the veteran rise to the occasion more than once because as she pointed out, Giorgi played a really solid match. This wasn't one of those Giorgi performances where she has a lot of errors but a rather solid showing which forced Williams to find a level higher than she thought she had.
She pushed me to be better than what I thought I could be, and it's great for me. I haven't played a lot of matches, and it's great to come through.
On her injury, Williams explained that she started to feel pain in the 3rd game but pushed through it simply ignoring it. It remains to be seen whether it has any effect long-term but it did hamper her movement which was noticeable.
"My leg started hurting in the third game. I was like, 'Oh no, not this.' It was really hard to control my emotions, to be honest. Eventually, I just acclimated to what I was going through and tried to ignore it. I couldn't move as well as I wanted, but I tried to get to every ball that I could.
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