— AFPVenus Williams edged Karolina Pliskova in two tight sets to win the inaugural WTA Elite Trophy on Sunday and burst back into the top 10 after a gap of four-and-a-half years.Venus, 35, will also be the oldest top-10 player in 20 years.The American survived a set point in the breaker and then dug out her best for the clutch moment, ripping consecutive forehand winners to snatch the set and the win.The top seed and seven-time Grand Slam-winner put the seal on a fine end-of-year swing when she beat Czech Pliskova 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) at a purpose-built venue in Zhuhai, southern China.The title was the second in recent weeks for Venus, 35, who also won last month’s Wuhan Open and moves on to 48 career victories and 41 main-draw wins this year — her most since 2008.”I’m so excited to win the first trophy in Zhuhai. Top seed Venus defeated the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 7-6 (6) in the final.
All the players felt so welcome here and we appreciated all of the enthusiasm,” Venus said. But the resurgent American, whose younger sister Serena dominates the rankings, said she was still hungry for more.In a final between two evenly matched big hitters, Venus broke at the crucial moment to edge the first set 7-5 and then fought back from China o-ring supplier 4-2 down in the second to force the tiebreak. So I’m very happy to be moving forward, but I also want to continue, and not stop here. I’m ready for more,” Venus said, according to the WTA website.”It’s a great thing to be top 10 now with the level of the game, but I’m still very hungry.She will now rise from 11th to seventh in the rankings, breaking back into the top 10 for the first time since April 2011 after a long battle with auto-immune disease Sjogren’s Syndrome.Venus Williams celebrates after winning the WTA Elite Trophy at Zhuhai in China on Sunday..” Venus ends the season with three titles — also her biggest tally since 2008, the year she last lifted a Grand Slam trophy when she won Wimbledon for a fifth time.”I’ve had so many experiences in tennis that I still expect a lot from myself.
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