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By Erik Gudris | Tuesday, April 1, 2014

 
Venus Williams Backhand Miami

Despite being routed in the second set, Venus Williams fought back to win her opening round match at the Family Circle Cup.

Photo Credit: AP

Venus Williams seems to find a boost every time she returns to the Family Circle Cup in Charleston. But in her opening round match on Tuesday, the seven-time Grand Slam champion looked headed instead for an unexpected early round exit.

Williams appeared on the verge of a convincing win against Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in their opening round meeting. Saving two break points against her, Williams soon secured a 6-3 first set.

Then the wheels fell off for Williams as she started to move slower and slower on court. Meanwhile, Zahlavova Strycova improved and began to force the issue against Williams who would frequently mistime shot after shot.

Soon enough, Zahlavova Strycova surprised everyone by taking the second set 6-0.

Williams managed to stop the rout by finally holding serve for 1-all in the deciding set. But with Williams taking extra time between points and, sometimes even bending over after long rallies, it looked more like the Venus Williams from a few years ago after she was first diagnosed with an auto immune disorder and struggled in her comeback matches.

Buoyed by the crowd, Williams started digging into the rallies despite Zahlavova Strycova mixing up a potent combination of power and deft touch. Williams claimed a break for 4-3 after Zahlavova Strycova netted a volley. Williams would serve for the match later up 5-4, but again, nothing was certain.

Clutch winners from Zahlavova Strycova and near misses from Williams saw four match points go by before Zahlavova Strycova broke for 5-all. Williams lifted her game while Zahlavova Strycova wavered by hitting only her second double fault to hand the break back. A more confident Williams didn't let her chance to close out the torturous-looking for her over two-hour battle slip away.

Riding out to a 40-0 lead, Williams smashed a swinging forehand volley winner to secure the 6-3, 0-6, 7-5 win.

Williams, who admitted she had been dealing with a "bug" over the last few days that left her unwell, commended her opponent.

"I've never seen her play that well, truth be told," Williams said later. "And so she was extremely focused today, and I think I finally started to get a little bit of hang of it at five all, I started to feel kind of like my clay court feet, and then at six five I felt pretty confident to serve it out."

Williams said that only in the last few months that she felt more in control of her recent health issues.

"I mean this time last year, you know, I was definitely not anywhere in control. I was trying to figure out, you know, how I can be better, and you know, sometimes that's tough because it's not you’re not doing anything wrong; you've always done things right your whole career and you're kind of facing something that you can't control. I made it to the semis last year. I don't know how. (Laughs). But I'm always fighting, and I'm a lot better than last year. Night and day."

If Williams can recover in time for Wednesday and the rest of the week will be an issue for her. But despite a ragged win, Williams proved she is still tough to beat even when not at her best. When asked if fellow players still view her as a "trophy win" because of her stellar credentials, Williams seemed to agree.

"I think so, because I'm no pushover, no matter what the circumstances," Williams said. "So you know, I do expect that, but at the same time, you know, it's always flattering if people feel like they have to come out and really be focused and play better, then that makes me feel like, all right, I'm doing my job."

 

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