Fueled by the energy of the crowd in Louis Armstrong Stadium, Venus Williams was on the brink of victory Wednesday evening.
Williams was two points from a thrilling win over Zheng Jie — nicknamed the “Great Wall of China” for her ability to return every ball hit her way — that would’ve kept her storybook run at this year’s U.S. Open alive for at least another round.
But at 5-all in the third-set tiebreak, Williams smacked an easy backhand volley into the net, giving her opponent a match point. One point later, Williams was out of the Open in the second round when she sailed a backhand return wide, losing 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5), in a match that was delayed some four hours by rain.
“I should have made the shot,” Williams said of the missed volley. “I think I was just rushing. I rushed so badly. I just didn’t make the shot.”
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