Serbian tennis player Olga Danilovic has qualified for the second round of the Australian Open after eliminating the legendary Venus Williams in a dramatic first-round match, BTA reports. Danilovic prevailed over the 45-year-old American 6:7(5), 6:3, 6:4 in two hours and 19 minutes of play, making an impressive turnaround in the deciding set, in which she was trailing 0:4.
Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, returned to the court after a long absence and received a “wild card” to participate in the competition. Thus, she became the oldest tennis player to play in the main draw of a singles match in Melbourne after a five-year break from the tournament.
Supported by the audience, the American started the match strongly and led 2:0 in the first set, before Danilovic restored the tie. In the tiebreak, Venus showed her class and won it 7:5. In the second part, however, the initiative was entirely on the side of the Serbian, who closed it in just half an hour.
In the decisive set, Williams again took control and pulled 4:0, but Danilovic showed character and won six consecutive games to secure a place in the second round.
A successful start to the tournament was also recorded by the British Emma Raducanu. The 2021 US Open champion and No. 28 seed defeated Thailand's Mananchaya Savangkaev 6-4, 6-1 in 71 minutes after coming from 2-4 down in the first set. This puts Raducanu in the second round in Melbourne for the fifth year in a row, where she will face Anastasia Potapova.
The Russian, ranked 55th in the world, made an impressive comeback against Dutchwoman Suzanne Lammens - 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, after coming from 1-5 down in the second set.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka also learned the name of her next opponent. The Belarusian tennis player will play against Chinese qualifier Zhaoxuan Bai, who returned from injury and recorded her first win in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament since “Wimbledon“ 2024. Bai, ranked 702nd in the world, saved a match point in the tiebreak and eliminated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6:4, 2:6, 7:6(10).