By Chris Oddo | Saturday February 10
It was a milestone day for Venus Williams at Asheville, but she was not the only player achieving great things. We go inside the numbers to sort it out.
Photo Source: AP
Keeping up with the game of tennis, by the numbers. Each day at Tennis Now we’ll give you a fresh set—without any further ado, here’s today’s sampling:
1000
Seven time major champion Venus Williams contested her 1,000th professional match today in Asheville. The 37-year-old legend defeated Arantxa Rus 6-1, 6-4 to put the Americans ahead 1-0 over the Netherlands. Williams’ lifetime record now stands at 776-224. Williams stands sixth on the WTA’s all-time win list, just behind her sister Serena.
24-4
With his win over David Goffin in Montpellier, Richard Gasquet has now won 24 of his 28 matches at the Open Sud de France. The 31-year-old will bid for his fourth title on Sunday when he faces Lucas Pouille. He has reached each of the last six finals at the event.
4-0
Elise Mertens improves her Fed Cup record to 4-0 in singles by defeating Frances Pauline Parmentier. 22-year-old Mertens is 5-0 overall in Fed Cup and will face Kristina Mladenovic in a crucial reverse singles rubber on Sunday at La Roche sur Yon, France. Mladenovic owns a 7-6 lifetime record in Fed Cup singles after her win today over Kirsten Flipkens.
106
The combined ranking of Sunday’s Sofia Open finalists. No.129 Mirza Basic, a qualifier, will face No. 93 Marius Copil in an unlikely final at the Sofia Open. Basic upset Stan Wawrinka on Saturday for his first career win. Copil took out No.3-seeded Gilles Muller in the quarterfinals en route to the final. It will be a maiden ATP title for the winner.
16-2
The Czechs have won 16 of their last 18 Fed Cup ties, and claimed five of the last seven Fed Cup titles. This weekend they are close to making it 17 of 19, as Petra Kvitova and Barbora Strycova completed a Day 1 sweep of Switzerland to move within one victory of the semifinals.