MELBOURNE, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Olga Danilovic pulled off a stunning comeback from 0-4 down in the deciding set to defeat Venus Williams 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 at the Australian Open on Sunday, knocking the American veteran out in the first round.
Williams, 45, looked primed to win her first Grand Slam match since a first-round victory at Wimbledon in 2021 but Danilovic took six games in a row in the final set to book her spot in the second round.
A seven-times Grand Slam champion who made a comeback to tennis last season after a 16-month hiatus, Williams received a wildcard to become the oldest woman to compete in the singles main draw on her return to the tournament after five years.
It ended in defeat but Williams was happy with her progress.
"At 4-0 I felt good. It's the biggest lead I've had since I've been back. In a lot of ways I'm having to re-learn how to do things again," said Williams, who will continue her campaign in doubles.
"I'm really proud of my effort today because I'm playing better with each match, getting to the places that I want to get to. Right now I'm just going to have to keep going forward and working on myself and working to control my errors.
"Those are things that come with playing extra matches, like getting your feet in the right position, choosing the right shots, all of those things I'm still learning.
"It's weird but it's super exciting to have played that well and to get myself in that position and come very close."
STANDING OVATION FOR WILLIAMS
Danilovic, 24, was not even born when Williams made her Australian Open main-draw debut in 1998 and the crowd at the John Cain Arena gave the beaming American a standing ovation as she walked on to the court.
"These things don't happen every day and playing against Venus Williams is something that I cannot take for granted, but there were a lot of nerves," Danilovic said.
"At 0-4, I said to myself, 'Just play, just take everything out and play point by point'. I'm happy I managed to get this one but it was such a pleasure playing against a legend."
Williams quickly capitalised on the crowd's energy, taking a 2-0 lead in the opener. But once Danilovic had composed herself with deep breaths, the left-handed Serbian began to trouble her opponent and broke back to level at 2-2.
VINTAGE VENUS
As the opening set went with serve, Williams showcased the vintage shots that once made her a feared player on tour, including a signature backhand winner down the line that had the crowd on their feet again.
After Williams sent a shot agonisingly wide on her first set point, Danilovic forced a tiebreak which the American clinched with an emphatic forehand winner on her fourth set point as the arena erupted.
That only fuelled Danilovic, who raced into a 3-0 lead in the second set, putting Williams on the back foot with a barrage of winners while also winning several points at the net.
The Serbian wrapped up the set in just 30 minutes, forcing an error from Williams on set point to silence the stunned crowd as she pumped herself up for the decider.
The crowd found their voice again as Williams turned up the aggression and the errors began to mount for Danilovic as the American stormed into a 4-0 lead in the final set.
RESILIENT DANILOVIC
However, a resilient Danilovic suddenly found a second wind and levelled the set at 4-4 as Williams had no answer to the Serbian's forehand.
"Move your legs, move your hand - that was the only thing I was saying to myself. She was serving incredible, honestly," Danilovic said.
A marathon ninth game with eight deuces which lasted nearly 15 minutes saw Danilovic go up 5-4 to serve for the match and she wrapped up the contest when Williams sent a forehand wide.
Danilovic will next play either American third seed Coco Gauff or Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
