First round too easy but Venus Williams ‘taking no win for granted’

Former world No 1 beats Elena Vesnina but Sloane Stephens loses to Lucie Safarova in first round of Dubai Tennis Championships, reports Gary Meenaghan.

Venus Williams has now won 11 consecutive matches at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Sarah Dea / The National

DUBAI // Venus Williams picked up where she left off at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, cruising into the second round with an untroubled 6-3, 6-2 victory against Elena Vesnina.

The American has won the event the past two times she has entered and proved on her return to the familiar blue court on Monday night that she has lost little affinity for the tournament.

Williams, 33, was dominant throughout, defeating her opponent in little more than an hour. The triumph stretches the seven-time grand slam champion’s unbeaten run in Dubai to 11 straight matches. It marks the first time in three attempts she has beaten Vesnina, a 27-year-old Russian.

“Every time I’ve played her, she’s played very well, but today wasn’t her best day,” said Williams, who was diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome in 2011.

“I just have to keep playing, getting matches. There’s no other way to it, really. The more matches I play, the better I will feel. I expect to try and execute in the match what I do in practice. Pretty much, if anyone can do that, you’re on top.

“This is definitely a privilege, but a privilege that I deserve. I have done the work to be here and I definitely don’t take any win for granted anymore. Not that I used to, but now it is even more special with every win.”

Earlier in the day on centre court, Lucie Safarova delivered an impressive, emphatic performance to eliminate Sloane Stephens, the highly rated American youngster, in straight sets. Safarova, ranked 28th in the world, dispatched her opponent 6-3, 7-5.

Stephens, despite sitting 13 places higher in the rankings, found herself immediately on the back foot after losing her first service game. She broke back, however, but once again could not hold serve and soon found herself trailing 5-3 and serving to keep the set alive. She failed.

In the second set, Stephens fought her way to a 5-4 lead and was serving for the set when Safarova found another level, breaking to love and then breaking once again at 6-5 to advance.

“It’s always tough losing to a great player,” said Stephens, who also lost in the first round last year.

“It was a tough match; she played really well. I didn’t really get a rhythm and she was playing good tennis in the end. She was playing a little better than me.”

She added: “Next year, I obviously need to try to do better here”.