‘Our energy really matched each other’ — Venus Williams wins her first US Open doubles title since 2014 with Leylah Fernandez
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Venus Williams has proved that she can still play tennis even at 45 after winning a women’s doubles match at the US Open with Leylah Fernandez. The athletes defeated the sixth-seeded pair Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez with a final scoreline of 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Their partnership was unexpected, but Williams and Fernandez worked well together. This win was special for Williams as she hadn’t won a doubles match at the US Open in more than a decade. With this, she expressed: “Our energy really matched each other in terms of determination, in terms of not giving up, in terms of really still just focused and dialled in in every single thing.”
She added: “That felt amazing because I never really played with a partner — outside of Serena, obviously — who had that kind of mentality, so it was really fun.”
Venus has won seven singles and two mixed doubles in her career. She recently had her comeback after being away from tennis for 16 months, and she admitted that she has been improving quickly with her performances.
“With the amount of matches I’ve played, I’m progressing very quickly… I didn’t have to come back to play tennis, but eventually I found my way back,” Williams declared.
Furthermore, Leylah Fernandez admitted that she was excited when she found out that Williams had wanted to team up with her for doubles. When she was compared to her sister, Serena, Leylah shared: “It’s probably the biggest compliment I’ve ever gotten… I feel like those are big shoes to fill.”
Highlight of the match
The highlight of their match was the fans, who cheered them on throughout the game. The chair umpire even had to ask the crowd several times to quiet down. Moreover, the fans also gave Williams and Fernandez a standing ovation after they won the opening tiebreaker, despite trailing 5-2 in that specific set. The fans gave a standing ovation once again after the match ended in 90 minutes.
In her on-court interview, Williams addressed the support of the fans and stated: “Wow… Thank you, you guys. Thank you for showing up for us.”
On social media, Fernandez expressed: “What a privilege to share the court with you @venuswilliams… I had so much fun on the court today and can’t wait for round 2! 🫶”
Netizens expressed their support for the athletes. One netizen remarked: “The energy and positivity from this duo are inspiring! Can’t wait to see them go further 💯💯🎾🎾”
Another social media user commented that their match was the ‘best thing’ that she had seen in the tennis world for a while now.
One more described their partnership as ‘the team we never knew we needed.’