Venus Williams clinches three-hour marathon tie

Venus Williams

Former World No. 1 Venus Williams clinched her first victory over a top-50 opponent in four years, beating Camila Giorgi in the WTA event in Birmingham on Monday.

Ignoring a knee problem that needed treatment in the first set and left her close to tears, Williams won a singles match for the second time in nearly two years. Williams, 43, battled to a 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) first-round win over World No. 48 Giorgi in three hours and 16 minutes.

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She might be in well into the twilight of her glittering career, but the seven-time Grand Slam champion still relishes the feeling of winning a hard-fought match. She said: "This one is especially sweet because I've been away from the Tour for so long. The last couple of years I've had little to no matches. There's a lot of memories and deja vu. Tennis is awesome."

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