It was the round of 32 at the Yarra Valley Classic Open 2021, and Venus Williams was up against World No. 9 Petra Kvitova. In an epic clash, it was Kvitova who was able to handle pressure better and defeated Williams in straight sets. The final scoreline of the match was 7-6, 7-5.

Although Venus Williams easily defeated Arantxa Rus in the first round at the WTA 500 Melbourne, she faced a lot of difficulty against Petra Kvitova. The 7-time Grand Slam champion was not able to time her shots and return her opponent’s serve effectively.

Set-1: Petra Kvitova takes away a close set

Serving first, Williams easily took away the first game of the match. However, Kvitova soon equalized the scoreline in the very next game. The American played some exceptional shots afterward and broke in the fourth game. This made the scoreline 3-1.

Although Kvitova lost two back-to-back games, she didn’t lose momentum. She made a comeback and broke in the next game. At the end of the sixth game, the scoreline was again leveled at 3-3.

After this, the one who served continued to dominate until the set finally entered the tie-breaker. Kvitova won three consecutive points in the tie-breaker, but Williams was able to bring back the score to 2-3. However, Kvitova didn’t take much time after this and eventually won the set 7-6 on her fourth set point.

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Set-2: Venus Williams played well but couldn’t cross the finish line

Serving first, Kvitova got off to a great start and won the first game. She even managed to secure a breaking point in the next game but could not capitalize on it, allowing Williams to level the scoreline at 1-1.

However, after this, Kvitova won three straight games after breaking in the fourth game. At that moment, the Czech player was comfortably leading at 4-1. It looked like she was in a mood to end the match quickly.

Although Williams was just two games away from getting knocked out, she showed some fighting spirit. She managed to win the next game and broke in the subsequent game. Even though Kvitova saved three break points, Williams managed to somehow get past her and narrowed down the margin to 4-3. The American was not ready to give it away and equalized the scoreline at 4-4 in the next game.

Williams continued her great momentum and managed to win a break-point even in the next game. However, Kvitova showed that she had still got a variety of shots and won the game after saving the break-point. But Williams yet again showed that she could survive and leveled the scoreline again at 5-5.

Kvitova didn’t take much time after this and won the set 7-5 and ended the match after winning two consecutive games.