Venus wins opener in Doha

Doha -Venus Williams, who won the WTA season-end championships here six years ago, has made a winning start to the Qatar Open which brought back great memories at a familiar venue.The 33-year-old seven-times Grand Slam winner overcame both a blustery wind and Petra Martic, only the second Croatian woman to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam event, 6-2, 6-2.

Williams struck 15 clean winners with her uncompromising ground strokes, and although she did not land her first serve as frequently as she might have liked, often advanced threateningly to the forecourt, scoring ten times with volleys.

“It’s windy and, you know, it’s winter in the desert, and the weather can be a little up in the air, so I was just happy to keep the errors down,” said Williams who believes that if she can do that regularly she will still beat top level players.

“Unforced errors are always a key for me. Keeping them down makes my life easier. The matches are cleaner, and it helps me win in straight sets.

“So that’s my goal this week,” added Williams, who has been hampered by fitness issues in the two years since she was last in the world’s top 20.

Williams won the first four games in double quick time, and after Martic launched a mini-revival, took the first set with renewed momentum. She maintained it in the second set too.

Four games later Williams sprinted most of the length of her side of the court to reach a Martic drop shot, feathering a brilliant counter-drop winner which helped alter the mood of the match.

“Everyone is trying to get in better shape, and my goal is to get in better shape each week — and so far so good,” commented Williams, who has suffered from Sjogrens syndrome, a condition which affects the auto-immune system.

Williams may though have a tougher task if she is to make further progress, because her next opponent is Petra Kvitova, the third-seeded former Wimbledon champion. Despite the enduring excellence of Williams’ best tennis she has beaten only one top ten player in the last 18 months.

If she needed some sort of an omen, the first day did bring a seeding upset.- Sport24.