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Grand Slam champions Venus Williams and Jelena Ostapenko have set up an exciting second-round showdown at the 2023 Rothesay Classic in Birmingham on Thursday.
Williams' return to the tour after a lengthy injury hiatus ended on a sour note last week as she lost in the first round of the Libema Open. She received a wildcard to compete in Birmingham and was drawn against Camila Giorgi in the first round.
Williams was put to the test but eventually emerged triumphant after battling for three hours to defeat Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6). It marked just her second win of the season, following her first-round victory at the ASB Classic in January.
Ostapenko took on Czech teenager Linda Noskova in the first round here. The former French Open champion was pushed to the limit by her younger opponent but dug deep to win 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
Williams and Ostapenko have faced off twice before, with both meetings occurring back in 2017. Their first contest was in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, with the American coming out on top in straight sets. She would go on to lose to Garbine Muguruza in the final later on.
Their second match took place in the round-robin stage of the WTA Finals. Ostapenko put up quite the fight, but Williams managed to sneak away with the win in three sets. The American made it to the final of the year-end tournament as well but came up short against Caroline Wozniacki.
The two are now set to duke it out for the first time in nearly six years. Here are all the details about their upcoming battle:
Venus Williams vs Jelena Ostapenko match schedule
The second-round contest between Venus Williams and Jelena Ostapenko will take place on Thursday. The two are scheduled to play the third match of the day on Ann Jones Centre Court.
Date: June 22, 2023.
Match timing: Approx 3 pm local time, 10 am ET and 7:30 pm IST.
Venus Williams vs Jelena Ostapenko streaming details
Viewers from the following countries can catch the action live on the respective channels and sites:
USA: Viewers in the United States can catch all the action on Tennis Channel.
UK: Fans in the UK can watch the proceedings live on Amazon Prime.
Australia: Fans across the country can watch the match on beIN Sports.
For more information regarding the broadcast of the match, click here.
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