Top-Seeded Venus Williams Wins Quebec City WTA Opener
She may have exited the US Open in the third round but Venus Williams showed no flaw in her play as she went past Canada's Francoise Abanda.
US top seed Venus Williams advanced to the second round of the WTA tournament at Quebec City on Tuesday with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Canada's Francoise Abanda.
The 19th-ranked American, coming off a third-round exit at the US Open, connected on only 59 percent of her first serves but won three-quarters of those points, including five aces, on the way to dispatching her 17-year-old rival in 85 minutes.
Next in the path of the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion will be Ukraine's 242nd-ranked Olga Savchuk, who defeated Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski 6-3, 7-5 to reach the second round of a WTA event for the first time this season. (Also read: A champion with peers, present company excluded)
Williams seeks her 46th career WTA crown and her second of the year after winning at Dubai.
The 34-year-old elder sister of world number one Serena Williams, who won her 18th Grand Slam title Sunday at the US Open, has claimed only two WTA titles since 2010, a year before she was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, which can cause fatigue and dizziness.
French third seed Kristina Mladenovic advanced by beating Britain's Naomi Broady 6-4, 7-5 while Czech Lucie Hradecka ousted Portugal's sixth-seeded Michelle Larcher De Brito 7-6 (7/4), 6-1.