Top seed Venus Williams fended off a spirited challenge in her opening match against world No. 87 Magda Linette at the WTA Tour’s Stanford tournament on Wednesday as she needed three sets to advance.
Former two-time champion Williams defeated Linette 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the hardcourt tournament at Stanford University.
The 36-year-old Williams is hoping she doesn’t suffer a post-Wimbledon letdown and she now has an easy path to the semi-finals since her next opponent won’t be ranked in the top 200 in the world. Williams will face either Catherine Bellis, who is ranked 203rd, or Sachia Vickery who is one spot back of Bellis in the world rankings.
Earlier this month Williams reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon, her first semi at a major in five years. Williams played her first professional tennis match at this event in 1994 and she has won here twice but not since beating Kim Clijsters 14 years ago.
In other matches, fifth seeded Misaki Doi showed no mercy against her Japanese doubles partner Nao Hibino, winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in their second round match.  British No. 1 Konta took care of business, beating Julia Boserup 6-3, 6-1 in just over an hour. She will face China’s Zheng Saisai, who upset seventh seeded French Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-1.

Federer to play in Hopman Cup
Seventeen-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will play for Switzerland in the mixed-team Hopman Cup in Perth January next year, organisers said yesterday.
The world No.3 will partner 16th-ranked Belinda Bencic in his first appearance in 15 years at an event that serves as a warm-up for the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open in Melbourne. Federer, 34, teamed with Martina Hingis to win the Hopman Cup in 2001 and also played the following year with his now wife Miroslava Vavrinec, better known as Mirka Federer.