Sport
Venus Williams and Jo Wilfried Tsonga take early leads at Hopman Cup
Venus Williams waits to return serve in her singles match against Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa during day two of the Hopman Cup at Perth Arena on December 30, 2012 in Perth, Australia. PHOTO/Paul Kane/Getty Images
Venus Williams rallied to defeat 60th-ranked Chanelle Scheepers 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Williams took some time to settle in against an opponent who rallied well and hit the ball deep. Scheepers broke Williams at love to serve for the first set. But after that, the seven-time Grand Slam champion looked increasingly comfortable and began to play more aggressively.
Williams clinched the second set when Scheepers double-faulted. She then won the first four games of the third.
Williams was playing for the first time since winning at Luxembourg in mid-October.
“I was just trying to find some rhythm out there,” she said. “She’s obviously a really good player having maintained a top-40, top-50 ranking the last couple of years. She played a match yesterday, too, so had an extra advantage. It felt good out there. “I’m not expecting to be perfect now, but I’m thinking that my game will get better every match. I think the doubles will help as well to hone everything. More than anything I was just so excited to be out there playing, and I’m ready to go for it.”
Venus Williams then paired up with John Isner to beat the South African pair 6-3, 6-2 to clinch victory.
Tsonga Wins his match
Jo Wilfried Tsonga put France ahead when he beat Verdasco 7-5, 6-3 in the singles.
Tsonga saved three set points before going up 1-0. He then broke three times in the second set and closed out the match on his fourth match point.
“It was not easy at the beginning,” Tsonga said. “He played well. Then I wake up and played a lot better and it was a good match for me, to win the first match of the season. The first one is always tough. You have to be really focused. The best part of my game was that I moved pretty well today.”
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press