Former top-ranked Venus Williams won her 44th career title on Sunday after winning the International-level Luxembourg Open. She beat last year’s finalist Monica Niculescu of Romania in the final 6-2, 6-3.
“I had to work so hard to get to the final – the match against Andrea was so challenging, and the two matches before as well, and even my first round I had to stay really focused,” Williams said. “Monica was in her second final here so she obviously feels really good on this court. You have to hit five, six, seven shots more than usual. It can be frustrating. She’s tricky. You have to be ready.”
Williams was referring to her marathon semifinal win against Andrea Petkovic of Germany where she battled for more than two and half hours and overcame the first set deficit to win the match on a decider. Williams added that the final match was not a walk in the park either.
“The score looked easy but the first set was 6-2 and like 42 minutes!” Williams said.
“You have to put a lot of balls back in the court against her. It was back and forth, back and forth – I knew I just had to stay focused and keep fighting,” she added.
Williams’ last WTA Tour title was in February 2010 at Acapulco and her immediate goal now is to be in the Top 32 so that she will be seeded at the 2013 Australian Open.
“My main goal coming here was to make the Top 32 and be seeded going into the Australian Open. I hope I’m somewhere in the Top 32 now. But wherever I end up, it’s just very rewarding to win here after facing a lot of challenges.”
