Two-time US Open champion Venus Williams loses to Jie Zheng Wednesday, but is the last time we will see her on the hard top in Flushing? Photo: Robert Sabo / New York Daily News
Venus Williams has crashed out of the US Open after losing a thriller against Zheng Jie.
Williams has only reached the third round at a grand slam once in the past two years, losing more than her fair share of close matches.
And this was another one, Zheng eventually coming through 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7/5) and then apologising to the crowd for beating one of their favourites.
Rain made the final stages even more dramatic, with Williams breaking Zheng when she served for the match and forcing a tie-break, and she really should have brought up the first match point.
But at 5-5 she dumped a simple volley in the net and then put a backhand wide to hand victory to her opponent after three hours and two minutes.
Williams said: “I should have made the shot. I think I was just rushing. I rushed so badly.
“I had a lot of opportunities in the match. I was always stepping up and putting myself in a good position. So this is a great sign. I’m just not playing consistently enough.
“I just dug myself into so many holes the whole match. I just fought as hard as I could to get out of them, but sometimes it wasn’t enough.” – Birmingham Post
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