"It's giving Emma Raducanu v Serena Williams Cincinnati 2022": Tennis fans react with excitement to Venus Williams v Mirra Andreeva in Cleveland

Venus Williams obtained a wild card for the WTA 250 Cleveland Open and will play against Mirra Andreeva in the first round.

The 43-year-old American will return to compete in a tournament starting from Monday, August 21st. Venus Williams had planned to play in the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open and then prepare for the US Open, but it has been confirmed that she received a wild card from the organization in Cleveland.

The former world No. 1 achieved her best victory in four years by defeating the world No. 16 Veronika Kudermetova, but she fell in the second round to China's Zheng Qinwen with a score of 6-1, 2-6, 1-6.

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Tournament director Kyle Ross expressed his delight in having the 7-time Grand Slam champion in the tournament:

"It is a special thing to see Venus Williams. I want to be clear she is still really good. Last week, she beat the 14th ranked player in the world. She's an icon of the game. She's changed the sport, not just in terms of what she's done on the court, but as a leader and pioneer. She changed what tennis means to a lot of people," he said.

The main draw draw determined that Williams will face the young star Mirraa Andreeva, who is 16 years old. The Russian tennis player quickly entered the WTA tour, surprising by reaching the round of 16 at the Madrid Open, the third round at Roland Garros, and the fourth round at Wimbledon. She achieved these milestones in both Grand Slams, surpassing the three qualifying matches.

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Andreeva is the youngest player in the top 200 and has a 27-year age difference with Williams. In fact, when Andreeva was born, Williams already had 34 titles, including five Grand Slams and six more finals.

Fans took to their social media to comment on the intriguing match between the two athletes. Here are some of the tweets that were posted after the news:

delusional raducanu stan

@RaducanuIN

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It’s giving Emma vs Serena Cincinnati 2022

Forever VenusGauff 💜

@VenusGauff

I can’t-

27

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