By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, July 1, 2016
Venus Williams withstood five warm-ups, three rain delays and Daria Kasatkina, 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 to reach the Wimbledon round of 16 for the 14th time.
Photo credit: Stephen White/CameraSport
Match point reached a boiling point when rain showered down on Court No. 1.
Staring down a second match point at 6-7 in the decisive set, Daria Kasatkina was about to serve when a deluge delivered reprieve.
Watch: Venus Frozen By Rain on Match Point
A drenching dramatic turn to an already topsy-turvy match left Venus Williams looking astonished by nature's sudden intrusion while spectators scurried for cover and the grounds crew quickly blanketed the court.
Special effects from the sky couldn't stop Williams from navigating a thriller.
The five-time champion withstood five warm-ups, three rain delays and the tenacious teenager, 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 to reach the Wimbledon round of 16 for the 14th time.
Contesting her 19th Wimbledon, the 36-year-old American has seen it all but the wide-eye look on her face and wide open mouth suggested she'd never seen a rain delay on match point.
"My word, what a lot of rain delays," Williams said. "You never know what to expect. Obviously my opponent and I, we were playing under the same conditions. I can't say that I've ever had a rain delay at match point. Probably not ideal. She handled it well. She played smart. It was just, I guess, non‑stop action. It was like a Hollywood script."
The oldest woman in the field relied on her experience and plenty of perseverance taming the youngest woman still standing in the draw and the elements. Williams converted her third match point pulling off a wild win that ended more than five-and-a-half hours after the pair walked on court for the warm-up.
Playing her third match in a 24 hour span, Williams started strong but stalled after some stops and starts, squandering a 5-1 first-set lead. Kasatkina reeled off four straight games, but double-faulted to give Williams a set point.
The eighth seed drew an error to seal a first demanding first set that was a sign of complications to come.
Lacking the customary sting on her second serve and sometimes jamming herself on her normally trusty two-handed backhand, Williams found herself waging a battle on two fronts trying to tame her game and the gritty Kasatkina.
Though she lacks a single imposing shot, Kasatkina is a clean ball striker, moves fluidly and often won the battle of court positioning take the ball earlier than the power player.
"She's a quality player," Williams said. "She played amazing. That was definitely my biggest problem outside of the rain, was her play."
Deadlocked at 3-all in the second set, Williams lost her range in a sloppy seventh game. A double fault, forehand error and errant backhand gave the 19-year-old Russian the break.
Kasatkina exploited a four-error game from her veteran opponent to back up the break. Serving to level the match, the teenager saved a break point then stepped inside the baseline and drove an inside-out forehand winner inside the sideline to snatch the second set.
Williams won eight of nine points on serve building a 3-2 lead in the decider.
Kasatkina's consistency and skill spreading the court earned her another seventh-game break. Typically, Williams' two-handed backhand is her most stable stroke, but it let her down when she needed it. Drawing successive backhand errors from the veteran, Kasatkina broke again for 4-3.
Kasatkina was one point from a 5-3 lead, but could not convert.
When Kasatkina nudged a backhand long, Williams gained a second break point. For one of the few times in the match, the teenager tightened up considerably. Kasatkina decelerated on serve sending a weak second serve into net to hand back the break.
Running down a demanding drop shot, Williams anticipated the pass and put her wide wingspan to use blocking a full-stretch forehand volley. That athletic shot helped her hold for 5-4.
Digging in, Kasatkina drove a forehand winner down the line to deny match point, eventually evening the set, 5-all.
A second match point hung over her head during a near 75-minute rain delay. When play resumed, Kasatkina made her first serve and saved match point on a Williams error.
That lost opportunity may have haunted some players, but Williams was resolute. She took charge moving forward. A fine backhand volley gave her a 0-30 lead then she ended a rapid-fire net exchange with a forehand volley for her third match point.
When Kasatkina cracked a final forehand into the tape, Williams smiled in and pumped her first. After a draining day she can celebrate two days of rest before facing Carla Suarez Navarro for a quarterfinal spot.
"Of course, I want to win," Williams said. "There's 128 people in this draw who theoretically are here to win. But you have to do the right things at the right time. That's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to push myself to be right there."