San Jose (the US): Venus Williams found her winning form late and charged to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 win over Britain’s Heather Watson at the Silicon Valley Classic tennis tournament here, Thursday to punch her ticket to the quarterfinals.
The typically reserved 38-year-old American broke Watson six times and showed rare flashes of emotion after critical points in the two-hour affair, pumping her fist and shouting.
“I’m calm. I can’t help how I am,” the third-seeded Venus said when asked if she would continue with the new on-court demeanor. “But I’m definitely fired up inside.”
Next up for the seven-time Grand Slam champion is a showdown with Maria Sakkari of Greece, who strolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Hungarian Timea Babos earlier in the day.
Venus is the highest remaining seed in the tournament after defending champion Madison Keys withdrew from the tournament Thursday prior to her second-round match against Ajla Tomljanovic due to pain in her right wrist.
