Hard-hitting Venus Williams defeated Anna Chakvetadze 7-6(1) 6-3 at the JB Group Classic in Hong Kong, while Vera Zvonareva came from behind to beat Gisela Dulko 6-4 0-6 6-3 which means that Team Americas and Team Russia are tied at 1-1 in the JB Gold Group.
Chakvetadze played well in the first set, but the Russian couldn’t maintain her form in the second.
Williams will play Zvonareva and Dulko faces Chakvetadze on Saturday, before a final doubles match.
Just for the record: Don’t forget that Williams crushed world No.1 Jelena Jankovic on Thursday. And by the way, Team Europe captain Jankovic, paired with Michelle Larcher de Brito, lost to Zheng Jie and Sania Mirza 6-1 6-1 in doubles on Friday. Also, Mirza upset Hungary’s Agnes Szavay 6-3 6-4, so Team Asia-Pacific beat Team Europe 2-0. (source: ESPN, photo: Ralf Reinecke)
Go Venus! hoping she will win the Aussie Open for her 8th slam 🙂
From what she displayed at the JB Group Classic, Venus is my favorite for the Aussie Open. She won all of her singles matches, defeating Jankovic, Chakvetadze, and Zvonareva.