Arango wins 'surreal' Cincinnati match with Venus; Gibson to meet Sabalenka
Colombia’s Emiliana Arango was born just a few months after Venus Williams won her first Grand Slam singles title in 2000. Twenty-six years later, the World No. 95 had what she called a “surreal” opportunity to face the legend on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz in the first round of the Cincinnati Open.
“When the draw came out and I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh man.’ It’s so exciting to get this opportunity,” Arango said after a 6-2, 6-2 victory -- just her second at WTA 1000 level this year. “When I was growing up, I always saw her on TV, so to get to play her is really crazy.”
Despite any nerves she may have felt standing across the net from a a giant not just of women's tennis, but of sporting history, Arango said her strategy was simple -- and she executed it flawlessly over 1 hour and 6 minutes. She used her strong footspeed and defensive prowess to frustrate Williams into 40 unforced errors, while committing just nine herself.
Arango’s eight winners were far closer to her mistake total, while Williams recorded 20.
“My coach told me, ‘I don’t want to see you moving slow; all I want to see is for your legs to go fast,’” she said. “I tried to focus on that, tried to get as many balls back as I could, and I think I did a good job of it.”
Another big name awaits Arango next. She’ll face defending champion Iga Swiatek in the second round at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, with the Pole fresh off a title at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
Gibson, Oliynykova set matches with Sabalenka, Andreeva
Two other notable Top 10 seeds -- World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva -- also learned their first foes on Thursday afternoon.
In-form Aussie Talia Gibson, who reached the second week of both Indian Wells and Miami in March and upset Paris finalist Maja Chwalinska last week in Toronto, will be top-ranked Sabalenka's second-round foe after she rallied to beat Austrian Lilli Tagger in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.
Oliynykova, meanwhile, was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over American Elivina Kalieva to set a first meeting with Andreeva -- just her second career match with a Top 10 opponent.
