Posted at 1:24 a.m., Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Tennis: Venus Williams advances at Japan Open tennis
By Jim Armstrong
Associated Press
Williams needed just 58 minutes on the hardcourt surface at Ariake Colosseum to record a win over her fellow American.
Williams, No. 8 in the WTA rankings, was a late addition to the tournament. She arrived in Japan from Seoul, South Korea, where she won her third title of the season on Sunday with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 win over Maria Kirilenko in the Korea Open.
"I like the surface here," said Williams, making her first appearance in the Japan Open. "I love to play fast and faster, it excites me so this is a great surface for my game."
In men's first round matches, American Justin Gimelstob advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Lukasz Kubot of Poland, while Vincent Spadea downed fellow American Amer Delic 6-3, 6-1 and Marin Cilic of Croatia coasted to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jun Woong-sun of South Korea.
Williams was planning on a vacation in Thailand before she got the call to play in Japan.
"I had a free week," said Williams. "I was going to go to Thailand, but when the tournament asked me to come I decided to because I love Tokyo."
After winning the first set today, Williams broke Craybas twice in the second set before finishing with a backhand down the line.
The arrival of Williams was a relief for tournament organizers after world No. 1 Roger Federer pulled out of because he needs to rest after the U.S. Open and Davis Cup.
In other women's matches, No. 4 Ai Sugiyama of Japan made an early exit when she was defeated by Yuan Meng of China 6-3, 6-3.
