Venus Williams rebounded after a slow start to defeat 43-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. In the first set, Williams’ game began to disintegrate after failing to convert on five break points in Date-Krumm’s opening service game.
Landing just 44 percent of her first serves in, the 34-year-old appeared to have trouble with the low-bouncing shots of the veteran Japanese player and frequently mistimed her shots on the backhand side. Meanwhile, Date-Krumm stood well inside the baseline to return serve and kept pressure on her opponent throughout, mixing up flat drives with delicate drop shots. Williams committed her 20th unforced error of the match on set point. However, there’s a reason that Williams is a former world No. 1 and two-time US Open champion. In the second set, the American began hitting her shots with more height over the net to give herself a chance to get into the rallies. Meanwhile, the previously steady Date-Krumm began to spray unforced errors, including a backhand sent well long to fall behind 4-0. She kept fighting, but couldn’t recover from her slow start, allowing Williams to level the match at one set each. The final set was one-way traffic for Williams, with the 2000-01 US Open champion showing more fear of a flying bee on court than her opponent's forehands. She continued to struggle with her first serve percentage, but did enough from the baseline to keep Date-Krumm from gaining any rhythm and raced to a 5-0 lead. Williams faltered briefly,failing to serve out the match twice, but converted on her first match point after just under two hours of play when Date-Krumm hit a backhand into the net. "The way she hits the ball is like no one else on tour," said Williams. "It's hard to get a rhythm with her and all of our matches have been so tough."
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