Despite historic night, Venus Williams falls to Danilovic in Australian Open first round

Serbia's Olga Danilovic came from the brink of defeat to end Venus Williams' historic bid to become the oldest woman to win a main-draw singles match at the Australian Open on Sunday.

Williams had already made history the moment she stepped onto John Cain Arena, becoming the oldest woman to compete in a main-draw singles match at the season’s first Grand Slam. The 45-year-old former World No. 1 fell just short of breaking the record held by Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm, who won a first-round match in Melbourne in 2013 at age 42, losing 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 to Olga Danilovic in 2 hours, 17 minutes.

Ranked No. 576 in the world, Williams started strongly, breaking Danilovic to take a 2-0 lead in the opening set. Danilovic, a left-hander ranked No. 68, soon found her rhythm to level the set. The Serb saved a set point in the 10th game to force a tiebreak and fought off two more before Williams sealed the set with a forehand winner down the line.

Danilovic, more than two decades younger than the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, broke early in the second set and held serve to take it 6-3 and force a decider.

Williams, seeking her first Grand Slam singles main-draw victory since Wimbledon in 2021, surged to a 4-0, double-break lead in the final set before Danilovic responded by winning four straight games to level at 4-4.

The match turned in a pivotal ninth game that lasted more than 14 minutes. Williams saved two break points, while Danilovic fought off six game points before breaking on her third opportunity for a 5-4 lead. Serving for the match, the Serb rallied from 15-30 down, to win two extended rallies – one with a passing shot and the other with a volley winner - to set up match point. A forehand error from Williams sealed the result in Danilovic's favor, sending the Serb into the second round for the third time in her career.

Williams, making her 22nd Australian Open appearance, is scheduled to return later in the week to compete alongside Ekaterina Alexandrova in women’s doubles. She is a four-time women's doubles champion here, winning each time with sister Serena Williams.

The American, a two-time runner-up in Melbourne, left the court with her trademark infectious smile and acknowledged the crowd support she received.

"It was such a great game, such a great moment," Williams said. "The energy from the crowd was amazing. That lifted me up so much. She played a great game. Also some luck there, as well. That's just the sport. That's how it works sometimes."

Williams added that she was proud of her efforts and feels that she is playing better with every match of her comeback.

"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," she said. "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, too, that come with playing extra matches, like getting your feet in the exact right position, choosing the right shots, all of those things that I'm still learning. It's kind of weird, but it's super exciting to have played that well and to get myself in that position and come very close."

Danilovic, who reached the fourth round here 12 months ago, will face either third-seeded Coco Gauff or Kamilla Rakhimova for a place in the third round.