A little twist and then it goes away. Venus Williams has only played one game at the National Bank Open, likely her last in Montreal. At 43, the great lady battled defeat well, to the delight of thousands of fans at the IGA Stadium.
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Williams could have shone on center court in the evening after the rain, but instead it was his compatriot Madison Keys who made sure the logic was followed. The 13th seeded and 15th in the world capitalized on the weaknesses of her 527th WTA rival to win 6-2, 7-5 in almost two hours of play.
However, it wasn’t easy for the Eastbourne turf champion earlier this season.
After winning a round without too much difficulty, Keys had all the trouble in the world to close the books. In the ninth game of the second set, she was unable to utilize seven match points while Venus converted her only break point of the sequence to make it 5-5, to the delight of a conquered crowd.
Keys was then treated by a therapist and clearly suffered from back pain. The treatments seemed to give him some energy, enough to score two more match points. The ninth was the good one.
on the other hand
At the invitation of the organizers, Williams did not always move easily on the pitch, her right knee, covered with a bandage, seemed to torment her. She even said she prayed five times a day to be able to play in Montreal after suffering an injury at Wimbledon last month.
Keys therefore forced her to run and surprised her a few times with deep and precise punches on the wrong foot.
The player, who took her time between points and boasted 23 major titles, including seven in singles, was consistently cheered on by the Montreal crowd. She earned applause, especially when she landed good shots, nice volleys, or well-controlled drop shots.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist even had a boost of energy in the second set, taking a three-run lead 3-2 after losing a game to a lengthy tie that lasted around eight minutes.
Last round
Williams was probably on her last appearance in Montreal, having turned pro in 1994 at the age of 14. Keys wasn’t born!
Her last appearance in metropolitan Quebec dates back to 2018. Her best result in Montreal was a final in 2014, losing to Pole Agnieszka Radwanska.
Venus left Center Court to a hearty ovation and the audience certainly thanked her for her fulfilling career.
Keys, finalist from 2016, meets the Italian Jasmine Paolini (49th) in the second round, who lost to the Croatian Donna Vekic (22nd) 7: 6 (3) and 6: 2.