Ukrainian No.16 seed Dayana Yastremska was the upset winner of the evening session in New York, beating Venus Williams 5-7 6-2 7-5 in the first round of the Western & Southern Open.
The 20-year-old Yastremska took two hours and 36 minutes to beat Williams under the lights of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Yastremska overcame an ankle injury on the first set and had to take a medical timeout before prevailing in the deciding third.
“I’m very happy that I won and same time very sad because I had really good opportunity the first set,” she said.
“But when I twisted my ankle, to be honest, my mind completely went the other way. I started to think just about the pain, how I twisted, and what is going to be next.”
“I really wanted to withdraw after the first game [of the second set] when I lost, but after that, the second game when I was serving, I [said] to myself that I’m not going to withdraw, that I’m going to play to the end. It doesn’t matter how it’s going to finish, but I have to finish that match. I really have to deal with the pain.”
