CNN
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Venus Williams rolled again the years with a classic efficiency to safe his first win towards a top-20 participant in 4 years.
Williams, 43, defeated Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 7-5 within the first spherical of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Monday.
Kudermetova is ranked sixteenth within the event and was anticipated to overhaul Williams, however the seven-time Grand Slam winner had different concepts.
“Undoubtedly the satisfaction right now is (from) all of the work that goes into being right here,” the veteran American. stated after the victory.
“I did my finest to be right here as quickly as doable in the absolute best form that I may herald that point. So it is satisfying to have the ability to get a win with little or no time to organize.”
![This was Williams' first win against a top-20 player in four years.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/230815043325-02-venus-williams-seeded-opponent-win-spt-intl.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill)
In each units, Williams discovered herself 4-1 down and on the again foot, however like so many instances all through her profession, she discovered a solution to combat again.
“I feel in some unspecified time in the future whenever you’re dropping a double break, you begin pondering, ‘Properly, no less than I need to maintain the serve for the remainder of this set,'” Williams stated. “Easy ideas like that. Then it will get a little bit bit nearer. You are like, ‘Okay, possibly I simply need to win one other level.’
“Undoubtedly some nice holes right now that I do not usually play. … However that is tennis. That is what’s so thrilling about it.”
Williams will now wait to see who she faces within the subsequent spherical in Cincinnati as she continues her preparations for the 2023 US Open.
Her earlier win towards a high 20 opponent additionally got here on the Western & Southern Open in 2019 when she defeated Kiki Bertens within the second spherical.