Venus Williams rallies to beat Fedak

Players Under the Microscope / Editor / 23 March 2007 / Leave a Comment

Venus Williams never doubted her ability after recovering from a sluggish start to beat Yuliana Fedak 7-5 6-2 in the first round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

The big-hitting American, who has won the competition on three occasions, trailed 4-0 in the first set but eventually found her rhythm and lost just one more game in the opening set, before taking the second with ease.

The five-time Grand Slam winner now faces a showdown with Russia's Maria Kirilenko, the 29th seed, and she admitted that her confidence never wavered despite the below-par start to the match.

"Even though I was behind, I didn't feel like I was going to lose, I just needed to find my timing," said the 26-year-old. "It was windy and I started out with a few errors. It was a challenging day."

The 26-year-old is in good form after claiming her 34th singles title recently at the Cellular South Cup in Memphis and she will be hoping to stay injury free as the summer approaches after missing the Australian Open in January.

In the other games played, Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands beat Anna Tatishvili 6-3 7-6, while Iveta Benesova claimed a 6-3 6-3 win over Gisela Dulko.

Williams can be backed at 24 to claim the title in Florida with her sister Serena, the 13th seed, on offer at 7.4.

Justine Henin is the current favourite at 4, while top seed Maria Sharapova trades at 6.8 and Svetlana Kuznetsova is available at 9.4.