""We have a few secrets," Williams said. "I was telling her a few things, but, yeah, I guess we forgot we got down. We were focused on winning the match. The score doesn't matter. All that matters is you keep putting it in and keep being the one to win the point, and then here you are at the end.""
""I actually have never done that," Williams said. "But we were down, so we wanted the energy that you guys bring. We needed that.""
""It was a lot of fun," Fernandez said. "I love Venus. She kept asking me how am I feeling between changeovers, and I was like: 'I'm feeling good, I'm excited.'""
Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez defeated Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi 7-6 (1), 6-1 to reach the US Open women's doubles third round. Williams, 45, and Fernandez, 22, had never played together before receiving a wild-card entry. The pair fell behind early but rallied, found rhythm, and closed out the match. The result marked Williams' first major doubles third round since the 2018 French Open. Williams returned to tour in July after a 16-month absence and pushed Karolina Muchova to three sets in US Open singles. Fernandez called the partnership fun and praised Williams' encouragement.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]