Washington (USA) – Monday in Washington marked the return of Venus Williams to circuit competition. Invited for the WTA 250 place, the former leader of the ranking had not played a singles match since August of last year in Chicago. Since then, they had only played mixed doubles at Wimbledon. Venus had some good times in the match against 111th-ranked Canadian Rebecca Marino, but she felt the lack of pace and the swings in the third set ended up costing the result. Marino scored ends 4/6, 6/1 and 6/4.

“Venus is a legend in the sport, it’s an honor to play against her. In the first set she was better and she was serving very well, I couldn’t find my rhythm. My game basically depends on my serve and I kept fighting. Luckily, I did that too. Break his serve and win,” said Marino, 31, who reached the top 40 in 2011. The Canadian was five years away from tennis to take care of his mental health and returned to the courts playing smaller tournaments. In early July, he was in the top 100 for the first time in ten years.

Marino moves on 🔛

🇨🇦 @beccamarino90 comes from a set down to defeat Williams 4-6, 6-1, 6-4!#CitiOpen pic.twitter.com/DgD0FUNVWy

– wta (@WTA) August 2, 2022

Marino led the winners statistic 24-13 and committed 43 unforced errors to Venus’ 49. The Canadian fired 10 aces against only 3 and committed only two double faults, against 13 for the former leader of the classification. The match featured six service breaks, four for Marino and two for Venus. The Canadian is now waiting for the winner between the German Andrea Petkovic and the Danish Clara Tauson.

Although Marino fired five aces in the first set, Venus was more consistent in her service games. Although the American didn’t face break points, she put pressure on her opponent’s serve in the first game and earned the break on her fourth chance.

The second set was largely dominated by the Canadian, who earned three more breaks and only lost four points in her service games. Venus started better in the third set and even opened 4/1, with two aces in the same game. But the American suffered a break after double faulting in the seventh game and allowed the tie in the streak. Marino would break again and served very well late in the game, setting the dispute with another ace.

GORGEOUS 🔥

🇺🇸 @Venuseswilliams overtakes Marino for the first set, 6-4!#CitiOpen pic.twitter.com/29ZhjA7Ufq

– wta (@WTA) August 2, 2022

Also on Monday, Liudmila Samsonova made her debut with victory. The Russian overtook the Belgian Elise Mertens, 5th in the lead, with partials of 7/6 (7-4) and 6/4. Samsonova, 23 and 60th in the standings, awaits the winner between Australian Ajla Tomljanovic and American Sloane Stephens, champion in 2015.

US Open Champion Emma Raducanu opens this Tuesday, around 10 p.m. (Brasilia time). The Brit faces the American Louisa Chirico. The day will also see the debuts of Victoria Azarenka, who faces Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, and Sofia Kenin, rival of Colombia’s Camila Osorio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8qEDRenwXw