Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams defeated Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 7-5 in the first round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati to record her first victory over a Top 20 player in four years.
With her red lipstick on, Williams rallied from 4-1 down in the first set and 5-1 in the second set to beat the world No.16 Kudermetova in their first career meeting. Kudermetova served twice for the second set and had two set points to level the match at one set apiece, but Williams came out on top and recorded a victory at a US tournament for the first time in more than three years.
This is Williams’ first Top 20 win since the 2019 Western & Southern Open. Then she upset Kiki Bertens en route to the quarterfinals, which was the last time she won back-to-back matches on the Hologic WTA Tour. Her next ten encounters with opponents ranked in the Top 20 were all defeats until Monday’s triumph over Kudermetova.
In the second round, Williams is set to face either Zheng Qinwen from China or Aliaksandra Sasnovich from Belarus.
