At 45 years and 215 days, Venus Williams came close to an incredible victory at the Australian Open
Article by Alexandru Stanciu – Published Sunday, January 18, 2026, 1:22 p.m. / Updated Sunday, January 18, 2026 1:23 p.m.
At 45 years and 215 days, the legendary Venus Williams took advantage of her wild card at the Australian Open and came very close to an incredible victory in the first round, where she dominated Olga Danilovic (24 years, #68 WTA) 4-0 in the deciding set. However, the Serbian managed to come back and prevailed with the score of 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4, in a match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes.
In the second round, Olga Danilovic can face Coco Gauff (21 years old, #3WTA), who is making her Australian Open debut against Kamilla Rakhimova (24 years old, #91 WTA).
Venus Williams, close to an incredible victory at the Australian Open
Venus Williams got the first break of the match and took the score to 2-0 in the first set, but Danilovic immediately got the break. It then went head to head, and the only opportunity to win on the opponent's serve went to Venus at 5-4 in her favor, but the American was unable to win the set on the return.
The first act therefore went to a tie-break, where Venus lost the first two points, but won the next 5. Afterwards, the veteran prevailed with a score of 7-5.
The second set, which went by in just half an hour, was decided by Danilovic, who took advantage of the only break chance in the second game, and then served perfectly to push the match into the decider. Moreover, in the second set, only 5 points were won on the opponent's serve, of which 3 by Danilovic and two by Williams.
Venus started the deciding set strongly with two breaks and the score looked 4-0 in her favour, but Danilovic managed an incredible comeback to tie the score at 4.
The ninth game of the set lasted about 15 minutes, and Venus Williams, apart from the two aces served in the decisive moments, failed to land the first serve in most points, and Danilovic took advantage of the third break point and imposed herself on the opponent's serve.
Later, Danilovic was able to establish herself on her own serve and won the match following an unforced error by Venus Williams.
