Venus claimed a 6-4, 6-3 win over her German opponent to become the ninth woman to achieve the milestone since 1968, Sport24 reported. “I would have been a little bit nervous”, the American told reporters. She said that her first thought was how long will it take her to go through to 800 wins but these 700 victories have been great throughout my career.
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Martina Navratilova (1,442 wins), Chris Evert (1,309) and Steffi Graf (902) head the list, while Serena, who racked up 700 wins in April, is now on 737.
Williams was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an immune system disorder, in 2011 and later switched to a vegan and raw foods diet to curb its symptoms. Williams said once requested concerning the marker in her own on-court check out. “That will certainly be an honour”, she replied.
Williams won 10 of the last 11 points to close the victory out, 6-4, 6-3.
Venus Williams of the United States reacts during the singles’ second round match against Julia Goerges of Germany at 2015 WTA Wuhan Open Tennis Tournament in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei Province, on September 29, 2015.
The 28-year-old Frenchman, however, had to battle for nearly two hours from a set down, to topple the 18-year-old Zverev.
Williams, who played her first ever professional singles match in 1994, joined an elite group of players to have reached the illustrious target.
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Venus said after the match that it was a good experience for her as she was playing Julia for the first time in her career and if she had known about the record before, it would have been on her mind throughout the match.
