Dream Denier: Danilovic Rallies Past 45-Year-old Venus Williams in AO Opener

By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, January 18, 2026
Photo credit: Elsa/Getty

The crocodile on her visor was swimming in sweat as Venus Williams stroked her way toward history.

The 45-year-old Williams built a 4-0 third-set lead, but couldn’t find the closing kick in Melbourne Park tonight.

Olga Danilovic denied Williams’ dream, reeling off six straight games scoring a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 Australian Open victory.

Twenty-eight years after her AO debut, wild card Williams continues to break barriers in her record-extending 22nd Australian Open appearance.

The seven-time major champion made history as the oldest player to play an AO main-draw match, but certainly this defeat will sting after Williams put herself in position for her first singles win since July. 

“Yeah, it was such a great game, such a great moment,” Williams said. “The energy from the crowd was
amazing. That lifted me up so much.

“She played a great game. Also some luck there, as well. That’s just the sport. That’s how it works sometimes. But it was an amazing moment.”

Across the net, Danilovic, who reached the AO round of 16 last year, said she tried to savor the moment and focus solely on the ball.

“Not easy. When we were walking there I told myself before the match I really want to take this moment and I cannot say enjoy, because it’s tough to enjoy, at the moment on court,” Danilovic told Rennae Stubbs afterward. “But you know, these things don’t happen every day. And playing against Venus Williams is something I cannot take for granted.

“But there was a lot of nerves. At 4-0 I just said to myself ‘Okay, just play.’ Just play point-by-point. Yeah, I’m very happy that I managed to get this one, but it was such a pleasure playing against such a legend.”

Credit the left-handed Danilovic, who is 21 years younger than Williams, for continuing to attack her shots and pressing the four-time Olympic gold-medal champion in the crucial longest game of the match.

Deadlocked at 4-all in the decider, the pair played a punishing 15-minute game that really decided the match.

Former world No. 1 Williams held six game points—and saved a break point with an ace—as excruciating tension escalating.

All that good work dissipated when Williams missed a forehand and a backhand ceding the break and 5-4 lead to Danilovic as many in the crowd emitted a collective groan.

Williams said she was more encouraged by her play building that third-set lead rather than being discouraged it all slipped away.

“At 4-Love I felt good. Also it’s the biggest lead I’ve had since I’ve been back. In a lot of ways I’m having to relearn how to do things again, if that makes any sense,” Williams said. “I’m really proud of my effort today because I’m playing better with each match, getting to the places that I want
to get to. Right now I’m just going to have to keep going forward and working on myself and working to control my errors.

“Those are things, too, that come with playing extra matches, like getting your feet in the exact right position, you know, choosing the right shots, all of those things that I’m still learning. It’s kind of weird, but it’s super exciting to have played that well and to get myself in that position and come very close.”

Down 0-4, Danilovic decided to go back to basics, focus on her footwork and that helped spark her comeback charge.

“I tried just to look a this yellow ball and just move my hand, move my legs,” Danilovic said. “It was such an amazing atmosphere. Obviously, more people were for her. But I saw a lot of Serbian flags, a lot of Serbian people, I heard Serbian. And that is why I love Australia…They really helped me a lot. It was electric.”

The left-handed Danilovic, who partnered compatriot Novak Djokovic in the 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles, was down 15-30 in the ensuing game. Danilovic rose up again with a forehand winner and a backhand strike for match point.

Williams tried changing direction down the line but her forehand clipped the tape and fell wide as Danilovic pounded her palm over her heart, sealing a two-hour, 17-minute victory.

Danilovic will face either third-seeded Coco Gauff or Kamilla Rakhimova in round two. 

Fans packed inside John Cain Arena saluted Williams with a sustained standing ovation as she walked off the court with a wave and a smile.

The skeptics who questioned why the tournament awarded the two-time AO finalist a wild card saw the high level Williams can still summon tonight. Ultimately, the world No. 576, who tested Karolina Muchova in a three-set defeat at the US Open last summer, suffered her sixth straight singles loss since she defeated Peyton Stearns in her Washington, DC comeback match.

“She was serving incredible, honestly,” Danilovic said. “Of course, we all know. In these important moments, she was serving so good so I couldn’t do anything. If she was going to play like that, I give the hand and that’s it. I kept myself calm and it worked.”

Still, Williams showed flashes of explosiveness. She served 60 percent, pounded 9 aces—4 more than Danilovic—and won 74 percent of her first-serve points coming achingly close to her first major match win since she stopped  Mihaela Buzarnescu in her 2021 Wimbledon opener.

Though Williams walked off the singles court tonight, she’s still alive in doubles. Williams and partner Ekaterina Alexandrova, who lost her first-round singles match to Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez, have received a doubles wild card.

The pair are scheduled to play Emiliana Arango and Elsa Jacquemot in their opener. Frenchwoman Jacquemot outlasted 20th-seeded Marta Kostyuk, 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(10) in a three-hour, 31-minute epic singles opener on ANZ Arena earlier on Sunday.

“I mean, right now I’m very much in the tournament,” Williams said. “My next focus is the doubles.
So that’s where my head is.”