The oldest player in the women’s draw at the Miami Open, Venus Williams, is looking forward to the next round, and next year, and the year after that.
“Yeah, 2020 here I come,” Williams said.
Williams earned her latest win in a season of resurgence on Sunday, beating qualifier Patricia Maria Tig 6-3, 6-0 to reach the fourth round.
Seeded 11th and appearing in the event for the 18th time, Williams is a threat to claim her fourth Key Biscayne title — and her first since 2001.
She is 12-3 this year, including a runner-up finish to sister Serena at the Australian Open, and at 36 shows no signs of slowing down. She has not been ranked No. 1 in more than a decade, but still has her sights set on the top spot.
“I would like to be No. 1,” Venus Willams said. “Nobody is out there saying: ‘Cool, No. 11.’”
Rafael Nadal followed Williams onto Stadium Court and was promptly blanked in a set for the first time in more than two years, but he recovered to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 0-6, 6-2, 6-3, a comeback that left him unusually pumped up for an early-round win.
When Nadal closed it out, he threw an uppercut, leaned back and screamed at the sky as the crowd roared.
“It was a good feeling to have a comeback like I had today,” Nadal said. “He was doing everything good, but I played a great second and third set.”
The match was the 1,000th for Nadal, who improved to 822-178.
Venus Williams’ opponent in the next round was to be seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat qualifier Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-2.
Kuznetsova won in Key Biscayne in 2006 and she was the runner-up last year.
“We’ve had a lot of great matches,” Venus Williams said. “I played her in the very beginning of her career and now we both have had great careers that are continuing to be amazing.”
Kuznetsova also advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles, but only after she and Kristina Mladenovic had to rally from being blanked in the first set against seventh seeds Raquel Atawo of the US and Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching.
The Russian-French duo eventually prevailed 0-6, 7-5, 10-1 in 70 minutes.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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