Venus Williams set a record just by starting her first-round match at the Australian Open, a testament to her endurance and longevity at the highest level of tennis.
Up two service breaks at 4-0 in the third set on Sunday, she was within sight of victory too. But Olga Danilovic had other ideas, rallying to win six straight games and beat the American 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. Williams served for just shy of 15 minutes in the penultimate game, determined to stay in the match before she finally succumbed to a third break point.
“At 4-0 I felt good. It’s the biggest lead I’ve had since I’ve been back. In a lot of ways I’m having to relearn how to do things again,” said Williams, who will continue her campaign in doubles. “I’m really proud of my effort today because I’m playing better with each match, getting to the places that I want to get to. Right now I’m just going to have to keep going forward and working on myself and working to control my errors.
“Those are things that come with playing extra matches, like getting your feet in the right position, choosing the right shots, all of those things I’m still learning. It’s weird but it’s super exciting to have played that well and to get myself in that position and come very close.”
At 45, ranked No 576 and playing thanks to a wildcard entry, Williams became the oldest player to compete in singles at the Australian Open, surpassing the mark set by Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she lost in the first round in 2015.
Williams was given a standing ovation by the crowd as she entered the arena. “It was an amazing journey on the court today,” said Williams, who left the stadium with a smile and a wave.
Williams entered the tournament on a five-match losing streak since the first and only win in her most recent comeback to the tour at Washington last year. On Sunday, she won the first set and had command of the third until Danilovic went for broke at John Cain Arena.
“These things don’t happen every day and playing against Venus Williams is something that I cannot take for granted, but there were a lot of nerves,” Danilovic said. “At 0-4, I said to myself, ‘Just play, just take everything out and play point by point’. I’m happy I managed to get this one but it was such a pleasure playing against a legend.”
Williams was 17 when she first played the Australian Open in 1998 – before Danilovic was even born – reaching the quarter-finals in just her fourth grand slam event. She has never won the Australian Open singles title but she made the finals in 2003 and 2017 and lost both times to her sister, Serena. She has also won five doubles titles in Melbourne, including four with Serena.
Among the other Americans in action on Sunday, Frances Tiafoe overpowered Jason Kubler 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 and Michael Zheng fended off Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 6-3 in an all-US first-rounder. Zheng, a college star at Columbia who advanced through qualifying to make his tour-level debut, will next face Corentin Moutet, who was booed after his underarm serve on match point in a 6-4, 7-6, 6-3 win over Tristan Schoolkate.
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova withdrew because of a shoulder injury before her scheduled first-round match, giving a place in the main draw to Taylor Townsend, the lucky loser from qualifying, to take on Hailey Baptiste. In an all-American contest on Court 13, Baptiste prevailed 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.
