Venus Williams found her winning form late and charged to a 6-4 4-6 6-0 win over Britain’s Heather Watson at the Silicon Valley Classic on Thursday to punch her ticket to the quarter-finals,National Daily gathered.
The typically reserved 38-year-old American broke Watson six times and showed rare flashes of emotion after critical points in the two-hour affair, pumping her fist and shouting.
“I’m calm. I can’t help how I am,” the third-seeded Williams said when asked if she would continue with the new on-court demeanor.
“But I’m definitely fired up inside.”
Next up for the seven-time grand slam champion is a showdown with Maria Sakkari of Greece, who strolled to a 6-0 6-1 win over Hungarian Timea Babos earlier in the day.