Venus downs Dellacqua in straight sets

She might have had her Australian Open campaign cut short but local favourite Casey
Dellacqua admitted to being "stoked" after her straight sets loss to hard-hitting
American Venus Williams.
Dellacqua went down to the American in straight sets 6-1 7-6 (7-4) but she was
intent on focusing on the positives after spending almost all of last year on the
sidelines recovering from a shoulder reconstruction.
Despite having played only a handful of matches leading up to the Open the third
round exit was the West Australian's second best performance at the tournament.
Apart from her fourth round appearance in 2008 she has fallen in the opening round
six times.
Dellacqua was expecting little, just to win a match this summer and avoid hurting
her shoulder.
But after winning the wildcard tournament to clinch a spot in the Open, then being
named in Australia's Fed Cup team, she found to her surprise she could stay in a
match with the best in the world.
"Honestly 11 months ago after I had my shoulder surgery I really wasn't sure where I
was going to be at or how I was going to go," Dellacqua said.
"So I'm stoked with where I'm at and I'm improving every day and I've got a long way
to go to be playing my best tennis.
"It's nice knowing I can compete and hold my own with girls like that after only
hitting solid tennis balls for the last six weeks."
Dellacqua said she was certain to handle the critical moments with more poise as she
plays more tournaments.
"I think so. I had a few break points in the first set and just at different times
throughout the match had opportunities to step up but I didn't play those big points
so good," she said
"I think the more tennis I play and the more matches I get that will come over the
next couple of months."
Williams started out in a blaze on Saturday, breaking serve twice in succession in
the opening set to race to a 5-1 lead then holding serve to clinch the set.
She broke again in the fifth game of the second set to edge ahead.
Dellacqua managed to break through when Williams crucially double-faulted in the
eighth game. In the tiebreaker the American raced ahead before Dellacqua saved three
match points before Williams sealed the match with an ace.
Williams said Dellacqua had been tough to finish off.
"But she played really well in the second set and I had a lot of chances to go up
breaks at 4-1 and 5-2 and she just hung in there and kept playing tough - that will
really serve her well throughout the year and throughout her career," Williams said.
Williams now faces 17th seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone who knocked out 10th
seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska.