BIRMINGHAM, England — At age 43 and ranked No. 697, Venus Williams isn’t performed fairly but - particularly on her favored floor of grass.

Williams upset Forty eighth-ranked Camile Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) after greater than three hours on the Birmingham Classic on Monday for her first victory over a participant within the prime 50 in almost 4 years.

Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and five-time winner of the Wimbledon singles, was out for six months due to a hamstring damage sustained in Auckland within the first week of the 12 months.

On her return final week, she misplaced to 17-year-old Celine Naef within the first spherical of the Libema Open within the Netherlands.

Williams mentioned it was “touch and go” in opposition to Giorgi.

“There were so many moments where I thought, ‘This match is over,’ then she would hit a shot from out of nowhere,” Williams mentioned. “She pushed me to be higher than what I believed I could possibly be, and it’s nice for me.

“I haven’t played a lot of matches, and it’s great to come through.”

There had been additionally wins for third-seeded Magda Linette, fifth-seeded Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine and Bernarda Pera of the United States within the Wimbledon warmup occasion.

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