Agencies
Wuhan, Sept 29: Venus Williams became the ninth women’s tennis player to achieve 700 career wins Tuesday when she defeated Germany’s Julia Gorges 6-4, 6-3 in the Wuhan Open here. She joined among others, the legendary Martina Navratilova and her sister Serena.
An ecstatic Venus said after the match, “I’m glad nobody told me before – I would have been a little bit nervous. It was a good match. I had never played Julia before, so that was an experience in itself.
“Now is the time to think about 800 wins. I don’t know whether I can reach that mark. But I am still playing tennis, enjoying my game and that is all that matters.”
The day however, did not turn out to be great for twice Grand Slam winner Belarusian Victoria Azarenka who had to retire midway in her match against World No. 66 Johanna Konta. Azarenka was trailing 4-6, 0-1 when she retired due to a sprained ankle.
In other matches of the day, Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova stunned World No. 11 Caroline Wozniacki 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) while Ana Ivanovic of Serbia cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 win over Madison Brengle of the US. In another tie, Germany’s Angelique Kerber beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
700-plus club
Martina Navratilova 1442
Chris Evert 1309
Steffi Graff 902
Virginia Wade 839
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 759
Lindsay Davenport 753
Conchita Martinez 739
Serena Williams 737
Venus Williams 700