Svitolina lauds 'impressive' Venus Williams for continuing to play at 43: "I don't know if I will be playing at this age"

Former US Open semifinalist Elina Svitolina has heaped praise on her Wimbledon’s first-round opponent Venus Williams.

The third Grand Slam of the year will be played from 03 to 16 of July in London.

The 28-year-old will face the five-time Wimbledon champion Williams on the first day of the tournament.

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While talking about her rival, Svitolina was full of praise for the 43-year-old for still playing tennis at the highest level.

"It's just really impressive," she said as quoted by The West Australian. "I don't know if I will be playing at this age and will be in this great shape playing with such a passion. Lots of respect to her in so many ways."

Both players have already faced off four times earlier where Svitolina has a clear advantage with three wins compared to Williams’ one triumph. Interestingly, this will be the first time when the two will be up against each other at the grass court.

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In terms of recent form, Svitolina will clearly start as the favourite as she has won eight out of her last 10 matches. In comparison, Williams has only managed to win two out of her last 10 encounters.

In the year 2023, the Odesa-born won 13 out of 21 matches in all competitions, which included her title-winning campaign in Strasbourg where she defeated Russia’s Anna Blinkova with a score of 6-2, 6-3.

On the other hand, Williams has just played five professional tennis matches this year where she suffered three defeats in the process.s