Venus Williams defeated Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-2, 6-3 to take the Luxembourg Open title. The victory marks the first WTA tournament win for Williams in the last two years. The match was decided in a brisk 1 hour, 22 minutes.
Williams’ career has been slowed after two seasons of illness and injuries. Yet despite various setbacks Williams at 32-years-old was able to claim her 44th singles title in a career that has included seven Grand Slams.
Niculescu, ranked No. 70, has now lost two Luxembourg Open finals in a row.
The last titles won by Venus Williams were the Dubai and Acapulco tournaments in 2010.
Williams was far from flawless, her formerly powerful serve was only 63 percent effective and she didn’t manage a single ace on the indoor hard-courts. Williams made up for her slowed serves with backcourt play that outmatched Niculescu throughout the match.
All the more impressive is that Venus Williams only started her season in March after a seven-month leave of absence to deal with illness.
Williams and her sister Serena did manage to shine at the 2012 London Olympics where they captured a gold medal.
Before Luxembourg Venus Williams had not made it past the fourth round of a Grand Slam since her 2010 victories.
Before her win at Luxembourg many fans and analysts had questioned Venus’ potential retirement from a game that is now dominated by younger, healthier players.
The Luxembourg Open was Williams’ first singles appearance since the U.S. Open when she was booted during the second round of the grand slam tournament.
