Venus Williams vs Lauren Davis Preview – Australian Open Round 2
Following up on her title win a couple of weeks ago, Venus Williams extended her udefeated streak in 2015 with a straight sets victory to advance to the second round of the Australian Open. The American will now contest a generational battle, the second in as many weeks, against fellow countrywoman Lauren Davis. Williams leads the head-to-head series 1-0 and will look to add to that record en route to the third round of the Happy Slam.
Watch the match live here: Venus Williams v Lauren Davis
The American breezed into the second round in Melbourne with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Spain’s Maria Torro-Flor. She hit 6 aces, won 79% of her first service points and 20 winners to close out the match in a grand total of 63 minutes.
“I felt good out there. I felt like my serve was working, moving well, playing aggressive. She and I had a really tough match at Wimbledon last year. Even from the first game, she was just hitting the ball so hard. So obviously I was just prepared for her to play well again. But thankfully I was able to break serve a few times and make it a little easier than last time we played.”
Williams will next face Lauren Davis, whom she has already defeated once this month. Davis defeated Aleksandra Krunic 6-1, 7-5 to book her spot against the former world No. 1. Although she hit no winners and no aces, Davis did manage 70% of her first service points and converted four break points to close out the match in 1 hour and 24 minutes.
This is just the second time that Williams and Davis will meet on the professional tour and only a couple of weeks following their first career meeting in Auckland. Davis did manage an upset of Sloane Stephens this year prior to the Aussie Open but only won three games against Williams in their last encounter. Therefore, it is hard to predict a competitive match between the two this time around.
Prediction: Venus Williams in Straight Sets