Putintseva Stuns Venus In Charleston

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Unseeded at the Volvo Car Open, Yulia Putintseva earned one of the biggest wins of her young career – and her second Top 20 win of 2016 – by taking out former No.1 Venus Williams, 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals in Charleston.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!

Putintseva had played the elder of the Williams sisters thrice before in her career – most recently in the semifinals of Kaohsiung – but the two-time junior Grand Slam finalist had never won a set against the five-time Wimbledon winner. Saving some of her best tennis for the first set tie-break, Putintseva broke the duck off of a stunning lob and moved one set to the good.

Williams has been sporting a wrap on her left leg throughout her week in Charleston, but hardly looked hindered in the second set, winning six games in a row to level the match and break serve to start the decider.

“In the second set, Venus really played great tennis and I didn’t think that I had a chance to win or make it close,” Putintseva said after the match. “I had some chances but in the end she was making winners. In the third set, I just told myself, ‘Try not to make any errors, and if you have an opportunity, try to move her from side to side.'”

Ever undaunted, Putintseva survived several long games to break back twice in succession and, despite losing a 4-2 lead of her own, clinched the upset on her first match point, putting her into the last eight in Charleston in what is only her third main draw appearance. Hitting 26 winners and 30 unforced errors, the Kazakh kept her side of the stat sheet far cleaner compared to Williams, who hit 64 unforced errors and 50 winners.

The typically demonstrative youngster was speechless during her on-court interview with Andrew Krasny.

“I don’t know!” she said when asked how she pulled off the win. “Just believing in myself, keep pushing and saying that I can do it.”

“I tried and she always seemed to have an answer,” Venus said after the match, adding, “and you know a lot of shots were just too tough. So what can you do?”

Using her drop shot to good effect on the green clay courts, Putintseva will need all of her guile against Sara Errani, who converted all eight of her break point opportunities to defeat 2010 champion Samantha Stosur, 6-4, 7-6(5).

“It’s another great chance to see how I’m improving and try to make something happen and play my best tennis.”

Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina backed up her emphatic win over No.2 seed Belinda Bencic on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Lourdes Domínguez Lino. The Spanish veteran took out an ailing Eugenie Bouchard in the second round, and though she pushed Vesnina through multiple deuce games in the second set, the 2011 runner-up held her nerve to reach her fifth quarterfinal on green clay – including back-to-back semifinal appearances at the former WTA tournament in Ponta Vedra Beach.

“I love green clay!” she told Nick McCarvel during her on-court interview. “It’s too bad we only play on it once a year.”

Vesnina will next play German veteran Laura Siegemund, who won a battle of unseeded opposition by taking out Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 7-5, 6-2. Lucic-Baroni had just won a marathon match over No.11 seed Kristina Mladenovic, but still had her opponent on the ropes in the final game, holding four break points before Siegemund closed it out on her second match point.

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