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Journalism of Courage
Venus Williams’ return from injury came to a shuddering halt on Saturday when she was hustled out of the Australian Open 6-4, 7-6 by doubles specialist Lisa Raymond in the third round.
“I am pretty much in shock,” Venus said. “I still can’t believe it, but that’s the way I feel after every loss. It is definitely going to settle in this evening. It will be like ‘No!’, but that’s the way it is, you win some, you lose some.”
Venus was playing her first tournament for six months after a stomach muscle injury and looked flat from the start. She committed 44 unforced errors in a mistake-riddled performance on Rod Laver Arena and struggled for accuracy throughout.
Belgium’s Kim Clijsters suffered no such mishap, routing Russian teenager Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-1, and her fiance Lleyton Hewitt fought off the challenge of 17-year-old Rafael Nadal 7-6, 7-6, 6-2.
Hewitt’s Davis Cup partner Mark Philippoussis barnstormed to a win over Mario Ancic of Croatia but 11th seed Tim Henman’s Open dreams were ended. The Briton let a two-set lead slip, going down 6-7, 5-7, 7-6, 7-5 (9-7) to Argentine Guillermo Canas in a four-hour, 51-minute epic.
Local wildcard Todd Reid, meanwhile, was outclassed 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 by second seed Roger Federer. Wimbledon champion Federer, the bookies’ pre-tournament favourite, has dropped just 20 games so far and seems strongest at this stage.
