Venus Williams battles back to beat Camila Giorgi to reach Australian Open last 16

  • Venus Williams into last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2011
  • The American lost the first set to Camila Giorgi but recovered well
  • Williams will now take on sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska on Monday

By Stuart Fraser for MailOnline

Published: 22:13 EST, 23 January 2015 | Updated: 08:37 EST, 24 January 2015

Venus Williams reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time in three and a half years as the 34-year-old produced a thrilling comeback to come through the third round of the Australian Open.

Williams was on the brink of exiting the tournament as Italian Camila Giorgi served for the match in the second set but the American fought back for a hard-fought 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 victory in two hours and 26 minutes.

Wimbledon 2011 was the last time Williams reached the fourth round of one of the four major tournaments but now, after being hampered by illness and injury in recent years, she has a shot at reaching the quarter-finals when she takes on sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska on Monday.

Camila Giorgi leaves the court following her defeat to Venus Williams
Venus Williams celebrates her win against Camila Giorgi

Camila Giorgi heads off the court dejected after losing to a resurgent Venus Williams in the third round

Williams, the No 18 seed, said: 'That feels fantastic especially when things happen in your life which are out of your control.

'It feels awesome out here to get another win. This old cat has a few tricks left.'

World No 33 Camila Giorgi came out firing and her aggression helped her go a set and a break up on Williams, who struggled to handle the power coming from the opposite end of the court.

Venus Williams reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time in three and a half years

Venus Williams reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time in three and a half years

However, Giorgi failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set and Williams showed signs of a revival as she levelled the match in the tiebreak.

The swing of momentum saw Williams go an immediate break up before going on to dominate the deciding set, in which she made just four unforced errors against fading Giorgi.

Williams said: 'She played amazing, she did nothing wrong, she played so aggressive.

'I just kept thinking I'll have some chances at some point. I felt like finally in the second set I started to understand how to compete against her.'

 

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