Andreescu giant-killing Auckland run continues with Venus victory - WTA Tennis

From there, a rejuvenated Andreescu entered an astonishing purple patch in which everything she tried worked. Her rock-solid backhand piled relentless pressure on the seven-time Grand Slam champion, and her net play was impeccable. Crucially, too, Andreescu fixed her serve, raising her first serve percentage from 51% in the first set to 69% in the second and 65% in the third.

And although the World No.152 never backed down from her aggressive strategy, she was also able to show off some wonderful defence when forced: twice Andreescu slipped over but still won the point, and a running dropshot winner en route to breaking Williams for 5-1 in the second set was the shot of the match.

From a set and 0-1 down, Andreescu reeled off an eyebrow-raising 11 consecutive games to take her to the brink of victory: indeed, the teenager would win 20 of the first 28 points of the deciding set to move up 5-0, preventing her illustrious opponent from even reaching game point until the sixth game.

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