Wimbledon déjà vu for Williams as Venus suffers stunning Hong Kong Tennis Open collapse
Second seed suffers shock defeat by 19-year-old Naomi Osaka, losing eight straight games after leading by a break in the first set
The painful memory of this summer’s Wimbledon final is one Venus Williams likely hoped she could quickly shake out of her head.
But there was a sense of déjà vu in Victoria Park on Wednesday as she crumbled from a break up in the first set to lose eight straight games – one less than the nine in a row she lost to Garbine Muguruza after holding a similar lead in July – in a 7-5, 6-2 defeat by Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
With it went a place in the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open quarter-finals, and her disappointment was palpable.
“She played well, I made a few errors at 5-4,” Williams told a post-match press conference. “But after that she played pretty solid so I have to give her credit.
“She just played really well. I wish her luck for the rest of the tournament.”
Asked if the humid conditions had influenced her performance, Williams replied, “I like hot weather.”
World No 62 Osaka was certainly worth her win, but Williams, who was seeking a maiden title of the season ahead of the WTA Finals in Singapore, was well below her best, making seven double faults and winning just 35 per cent of points on her second serve.
Osaka, 18 years Williams’ junior at 19, was born in Japan a month after Williams made her first grand slam final at the 1997 US Open.