All’s not well for Venus Williams
Venus Williams leaves the court after losing 4-6, 3-6 to qualifier Karumi Nara in their BNP Paribas Open first round match in Indian Wells, California, on Friday. — AFP
Venus Williams leaves the court after losing 4-6, 3-6 to qualifier Karumi Nara in their BNP Paribas Open first round match in Indian Wells, California, on Friday. — AFP
Venus Williams finally made peace with Indian Wells tennis fans on Friday by ending her 15-year boycott of the hardcourt tournament, but she couldn’t put away her Japanese opponent.
Williams’ hopes for a storybook ending in her return to the California desert were dashed when she lost 4-6, 3-6 to qualifier Kurumi Nara in a second-round match delayed 30 minutes because of a storm.
The 35-year-old Williams received a hearty reception from the main stadium crowd of about 7,000 with some in attendance standing up to cheer.
But it was a more low-key response than the 57-second standing ovation that Serena received here last year when she ended her 14-year boycott of the joint WTA and ATP Tour event.
“It is time to move on and let the past be the past. When I was out there I didn’t think back. It was a long time ago,” said Venus, who was seeded 10th in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams breezed through her opening match, beating German qualifier Laura Siegemund 6-2, 6-1.
Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska survived a scare to defeat Slovakian veteran Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in her opening match.
She advances to the third round, where she will face Monica Niculescu, who beat Heather Watson 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
Sania-Martina make winning start Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis saw off the challenge of Australian team of Casey Dellacqua and Samantha Stosur to move to the second round.
The top seeded Indo-Swiss pair defeated their rivals 6-3, 7-5 in just 68 minutes in their opening round of the $6,844,139 hard court event.
Sania and Martina saved four of the six breakpoints they faced in the match and broke their rivals five times in the tight contest.
They next face local girl Vania King and Russia’s Alla Kudryavtseva, who beat Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.