For the second week in a row, Estonian tennis player Anett Kontaveit on Thursday defeated the United States’ Venus Williams 6-2, 7-6 (3) to reach the quarter-finals of the Italian Open, a WTA clay court tournament held in Rome.
Kontaveit needed one hour and 19 minutes to earn her second consecutive win over the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, after overcoming world No. 9, Venus, reports Efe.
The 22-year-old Kontaveit eased to seal the first set, breaking her rival’s serve twice, but the second was more challenging for the Estonian player, as she fell 3-0 behind.
Venus, however, saw her advantage vanishing, as she conceded her serve in the fifth game.
Both players held their next service game without facing any break points, forcing the set into a tie-break.
Venus trailed 6-0 in the tie-break and made Kontaveit sweat a little more, but she eventually lost the match.
In her second consecutive quarter-final appearance in Rome, Kontaveit is scheduled to play Danish Caroline Wozniacki, world No. 2, or Russian Anastasija Sevastova.
Kontaveit hopes for a better outcome than her previous last-8 clash in Rome, when she lost to Romanian Simona Halep.