Venus Williams withdraws from US Open warm-up occasion avoiding 16-year-old prodigy
Venus Williams’ hotly-anticipated conflict with Russian wonderkid Mirra Andreeva is off after the American withdrew from the Cleveland Open with a knee harm.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion, 43, had been drawn to face an opponent 27 years youthful than her within the first spherical of the US Open warm-up occasion on Monday, in what would have been one of many greatest age hole match-ups of the previous 20 years.
But followers have been left disillusioned after Williams, who has received Wimbledon 5 instances, was compelled to tug out to maintain her prospects of showing in subsequent week’s US Open alive.
The American star had secured a wildcard choice for the WTA occasion, as she has achieved for the US Open itself – a Grand Slam event that she has beforehand received on two events.
But after ending her involvement in Cleveland earlier than it had even began, her place has now been given to world No 77 Tamara Korpatsch of Germany as a substitute.
The late swap is a stroke of luck for the 28-year-old, who misplaced within the qualifying rounds to Magdalena Frech on the weekend. She has confronted Andreeva earlier than, nevertheless, with the 16-year-old beating her within the last qualifying spherical at Wimbledon this 12 months.
Whilst Williams’ absence can be thought-about a disappointment, her precedence to look at what can be her twenty fourth US Open is evident. The all-time nice had complained about how her troubled knee was responding in the course of the build-up to the Cleveland Open and in the end wasn’t ready to danger her look in New York subsequent week by competing within the WTA 250 occasion on Monday.
Not since 47-year-old Martina Navratilova confronted 19-year-old Gisela Dulko on the French Open and Wimbledon in 2004 has there been as huge an age hole between gamers as there would have been between Williams and Andreeva.
The latter has loved a season of giant progress to this point, reaching the third spherical of the French Open and the fourth spherical of Wimbledon as a qualifier. Currently world no. 67, she is the youngest teenager in world’s prime 100.
Williams hopes to make amends by showing at subsequent 12 months’s Cleveland Open, additional demonstrating her refusal to retire from the game. After struggling an harm final 12 months, she has solely participated in six matches all season returning simply three wins.
But the previous world No 1 remains to be an enormous draw within the twilight of her profession, incomes herself wildcard spots at each Wimbledon and the US Open.