Venus Williams starts strong in Citi Open debut, but service mistakes lead to first-round loss

Venus Williams came out strong in her Citi Open debut Monday night, but too many mistakes in her service game were too much to overcome.

Williams won the first set, but a total of 13 double faults — 11 of them in the final two sets — undid the former world No. 1. Canadian Rebecca Marino capitalized on Williams’ mistakes late, winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in their first round WTA match.

“It’s my first match [this year], so I didn’t think I played well a lot of the time. Just a little rusty,” Williams said following her match.

A sold-out Stadium Court crowd at Fitzgerald Tennis Center more than appreciated Williams’ maiden tournament appearance. They greeted the seven-time Grand Slam winner with applause from the outset of the match and at nearly every changeover.

“It’s so much fun. I wish I could have pulled this match through for the crowd and for the tournament. But it doesn’t always work out,” Williams said. 

Williams responded well to their energy in her first set of competitive singles tennis in nearly a year. On Marino’s service game at 3-3, she broke the Canadian after three deuces, and immediately consolidated the break en route to winning the first set. Williams didn’t face a break point in any of her five service games in the set.

Mistakes began to show up often in the second set. She double-faulted five times in the frame and saw her first-serve percentage drop from 74.2 to 57.1. Marino took easy advantage, breaking Williams in her second and third service games in a quick, 6-1 second set.

Williams found momentum again in the third, winning the first three games and coming within two games of the match at 4-1.

But her troubles from the second set bled into the third, and Williams couldn’t steady her service game. She only converted 43% of her first serves (13/30) and double-faulted six times in the set as her lead slipped away. Marino won the next five games, punctuating the win with an ace on match point.

“It was so much fun to play in D.C. It was nice to have the crowd behind me,” Williams said. “Haven’t played a singles match in a year, so definitely a great experience.”

Williams will play in next week’s WTA 1000-series event in Canada next week along with her sister, Serena. The two practiced together here this week.

“Just trying to shake off some rust,” Williams said. “That’s just to be expected. All I can do is just play another tournament and play better.”