Venus Williams was unable to pull off an even bigger surprise at the Birmingham Classic. On Thursday, the 43-year-old American lost 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 to second-seeded Jelena Ostapenko in the 2nd round of the grass-court tournament that serves as a warm up for Wimbledon
Williams defeated 48th-ranked Camile Giorgi on Monday, her first victory over a top 50 player in almost 4 years. She has just recently returned from a six-month absence due to a hamstring injury sustained in Auckland in the first week of the year.
Venus Williams, who was wearing a brace around her right knee against Ostapenko, had an off-court medical timeout at 2-2 in the second set. She appeared uneasy when she came back to the court, but she kept playing, battling for every point and even saved a match point at 5-3 before recovering to win 4 matches in a row and take it to a decider.
Williams’ mobility became limited at the end of a 44-minute third set and Ostapenko secured the win with a forehand down the line.
Williams, a 7 time Grand Slam champion and 5 time Wimbledon singles champion, was given a wild card for this year’s championships by the All England Club this week and she has justified it.
