Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian recently praised Venus Williams for her brilliant performance at the 2023 Cincinnati Open.
The 43-year-old defeated the 16th seed Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, in the first round of the WTA 1000 event on Monday, August 14.
Williams and Kudermetova had never played each other before, but the American veteran had the edge in experience and determination. Williams came back from 2-5 down in the second set to clinch the victory in one hour and 51 minutes. It was her first win over a top-20 player since 2019.
Her efforts did not go unnoticed by her family and fans, who cheered for her on social media. Among them was her brother-in-law Ohanian. The Reddit co-founder reposted a tweet from a user who had praised the icon for her win.
“WTG @Venuseswilliams – keep building,” Ohanian wrote on Twitter.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion has been struggling with injuries and inconsistent form in recent years. She has not won a title since 2016 and has not reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2017.
However, she has not given up on her passion for the game and continues to challenge herself against younger and higher-ranked opponents.
“I think I’m at a better level than I started the year, to be honest. I’m just always happy to be back in Cincinnati. It’s like my home away from home,” Williams said in a post-match press conference.
“I did my best to be here as soon as possible in the best form possible” – Venus Williams
Venus Williams recently shared her thoughts after defeating Veronika Kudermetova in the opening round in Cincinnati. The American athlete shared her delight at returning from injuries and highlighted the amount of effort that goes into each game, showing the commitment required of professional tennis players.
“Definitely satisfaction from today is [from] all the work that goes into just being here at all,” Williams said.
The former world No. 1 said she did everything she could to compete in Cincinnati, trying to be as fit as possible in the short time she had. Venus Williams stressed that overcoming the challenge of having little preparation time made her win even more rewarding.
“I did my best to be here as soon as possible in the best form possible I could bring in that amount of time. So that makes it satisfying, to be able to get a win with very little time to prepare,” she added.
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