Venus Williams Fails to win in the Cincinnati Open

Sports Betting News - August 13th, 2009 - Written by Ryan Smith

Venus Williams decided to play this weekend in the Western & Southern Financial Group Womens's Open, and it might not have been the best idea for the older Williams sister. The Tournament as a $2 million purse this year, and the tennis tournament was changed to a top-tier event for this season. Both the Williams sister entered the tournament, and Venus will be packing her bags early today.

Venus Williams competed in one of the earlier match's at 12:00 p.m., and faced Flavia Pennetta in this round of 16 match up. Venus entered as a third seed in the tournament, and online sportsbooks such as Bodog, had Venus as a -400 favorite to win. Flavia Pennetta entered the match as a + 275 underdog, and a 14 seed in the tournament, but had momentum on her side after winning the L.A. Women's Tennis Championship on Sunday of last week. Pennetta played a very competitive game against Venus, and her strategy payed off, as she won the match in straight sets 7-6 (2), 6-4. Pennetta has played well against Venus in the past, accumulating a 4-3 record against her before this match.

Venus Williams finished the match with 38 unforced errors, and looked to find it difficult to keep the ball on the court. "I wasn't able to get control of my ball today," ESPN reports Venus said after her match "After a while, it was obvious to see she was just keeping the ball in play and waiting for me to self-destruct." The 27 year-old Flavia Pennetta was very emotional at the end of her match with Venus. ESPN reports Pennetta commented "Very unusual,"  and later "I don't know. The emotion was crazy. Coming from Los Angeles, I didn't have a lot of days to rest. I was playing like that -- yesterday, not my best tennis. I was tired. When everything comes together, the emotions go up." When asked about her lack of rest before the two tournaments, Flavia commented with "My confidence now -- it's perfect, you know, It's always when you win a lot of matches like this. You believe more in yourself. When I got on the court today, I was just believing in myself."

Serena Williams is also in the tournament this weekend and her round 16 match came today at 3:00 p.m. today. Serena Williams is a -1600 favorite to beat Sybille Bammer, who is a +725 underdog in the match.

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