By Chris Oddo | Tuesday October 13, 2015
Venus Williams survives a tough three-set battle to move on in Hong Kong.
Photo Source: Halo Productions
She was blown out in the first set vs. World No 199 Yulija Beygelzimer of Ukraine, and down a break on three separate occasions in the decider but Venus Williams survived for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in Hong Kong to keep her hopes of reaching this year’s WTA Finals alive.
"I like easy matches better," Williams said, according to WTATennis.com. "But like I've said before, there are no givens out here. She came out and played the match of her life - that's really what I have to be ready for every time.”
Williams was broken six times, but managed six breaks of her own, including four in a wild third set that saw her complete the hard-earned victory in two hours and 13 minutes.
Williams advances to face Yafan Wang of China, who advanced when American Christina McHale had to retire down 6-3, 4-1 in the second set.
Also moving on in Hong King was Angelique Kerber. The German, Currently 5th in the Singapore standings, can only gain points if she reaches the final in Hong Kong. The second seed defeated Francesca Schiavone, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3, to set up a second-round encounter with Kurumi Nara of Japan.
Other winners advancing on a good day for seeds were 4th-seeded Jelena Jankovic (d. Ana Bogdan), 5th-seeded Sam Stosur (d. Risa Ozaki), 6th-seeded Daria Gavrilova (d. Miyu Kato), 7th-seeded Caroline Garcia (d. Lauren Davis) and 8th-seeded Alize Cornet (d. Kateryna Kozlova).