2023-06-22 22:38:08
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Venus Williams mightn’t pull off another surprise, a bigger one, at the Birmingham tournament.
The 43-year-old American, currently ranked No. 697, lost 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 to second-seeded Jelena Ostapenko in the second round of the Wimbledon grass-court tournament on Thursday.
On Monday, Williams edged out Camila Giorgi — the 48th-ranked — for her first victory once morest a Top 50 opponent in nearly four years. She had just returned to the circuit following missing six months with a muscle injury she suffered in Auckland in the first week of the year.
Williams, who played with a taped right knee once morest Ostapenko, received treatment at 2-2 in the second set. He didn’t look quite right, but he kept playing and saved a match point at 5-3. He rallied to win four straight to force a third set.
After a 44-minute third set, Williams was struggling as her Latvian opponent sealed the win with a forehand down the line.
Champion of seven Grand Slam events and owner of five singles titles at Wimbledon, this week she received an invitation from the All England Club for this year’s edition and justified it.
Also Thursday, top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over fellow Czech Tereza Martincova.
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