Karolina Pliskova ousts Venus Williams in Cincinnati

Venus Williams returned to Cincinnati with a bouncy effort but ultimately Pliskvoa was able to turn around the match and win 7-5 6-3.

It's been a nice sight for many tennis fans, that of Venus Williams playing tennis again. The veteran returned alongside her younger sister Serena but unlike Serena, she won't retire from the game yet. Williams has lost all the matches she played since making a return but this one looked a bit better, at least initially.

After saving an early break point Williams was able to break Pliskova and take the 4-2 lead. Pliskova tends to complicate matches but this time was different. She stayed calm, kept attacking and eventually made it 4-4. Both players had chances in the next two games with Williams squandering a 40-15 lead on Pliskova's serve and the Czech missing out on two set points.

Eventually, it was Pliskova who won the messy opening set 7-5. Both had major issues on their 2nd serve and neither served that well. Pliskova upped the level in the 2nd set jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Williams was starting to run out of steam and she wasn't able to stay in rallies as well as she did earlier in the match.

Her serve also got way worse in the 2nd set and that didn't help matters either. Due to the serve getting worse Pliskova was able to add another break and finish off the match 7-5 6-1. Some early troubles for the Czech but she overcame them confidently.