Venus Williams Picks Up Where She Left Off...
Venus Williams returned to action today for the first time in almost six months on the grass courts at Eastbourne in the AEGON International. Somehow, it seemed fitting that Venus would face Andrea Petkovic in her first match back on Tour. Back in January, Venus
had to retire during her match with Petkovic because of a groin/hip injury, which has sidelined her since then. Today, despite the windy, tricky conditions in Eastbourne, Venus came through a tight three setter to beat Petkovic, now ranked eleventh, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
On the road back to Wimbledon, the tournament where Venus Williams has had the most success and the one Slam where she is most likely to add another Grand Slam title to her trophy collection, Venus will attempt to get some match play in this week in Eastbourne. All eyes will be focused on Venus and sister, Serena Williams, as they play their first few matches. However, Venus showed last summer at the 2010 U.S. Open, that even without match play before the tournament, she could still rise to the occasion. At Wimbledon, the courts and conditions should favor Venus even more than at Eastbourne. Therefore, the match practice this week will be important to help ease the “nerves” and get the body conditioned a bit more for the twists and turns on grass. However, the key as always will be for Venus to stay healthy and to serve well!
On the road back to Wimbledon, the tournament where Venus Williams has had the most success and the one Slam where she is most likely to add another Grand Slam title to her trophy collection, Venus will attempt to get some match play in this week in Eastbourne. All eyes will be focused on Venus and sister, Serena Williams, as they play their first few matches. However, Venus showed last summer at the 2010 U.S. Open, that even without match play before the tournament, she could still rise to the occasion. At Wimbledon, the courts and conditions should favor Venus even more than at Eastbourne. Therefore, the match practice this week will be important to help ease the “nerves” and get the body conditioned a bit more for the twists and turns on grass. However, the key as always will be for Venus to stay healthy and to serve well!
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