Australian Open 2017: Duan Yingying to face Venus Williams in third round of the tournament

Duan defeated Varvara 6-1, 3-6, 10-8 in the second round

Melbourne, Jan 18 (IANS): China’s Duan Yingying defeated Varvara Lepchenko of Uzbekistan in the second round of the Australian Open tennis tournament here on Wednesday.

Duan defeated Varvara 6-1, 3-6, 10-8 to set up a clash with American veteran Venus Williams in the third round on Friday, reports Xinhua. Also read: Sania Mirza-Barbora Strycova sail into second round

Ahead of the meeting, both players admitted that they know nothing about each other.

“I’ve never played Venus before, so I don’t think I will have any pressure, I’ll just play my game and try my best,” Duan told reporters via a translator post-match, admitting she’s never even seen Williams play before.

“I don’t really watch that much tennis, so I think my coach will do the job to try to tell me what I need to do on the court. I will take one day off tomorrow and let the coach do the job,” she added.

Venus defeated Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2 on centre court on Wednesday. She was glad to be back after combating an elbow injury that saw her withdraw from warm-up matches prior to the Australian Open. Also read: Birthday girl Angelique Kerber unwraps perfect present, moves to third round

“I go and see the physios (to manage the injury), and they have been doing a great job,” Williams told reporters after sidestepping a question on how bad the injury is.

Venus is on the same page as Duan in terms of knowledge about her upcoming opponent. Also read: Roger Federer struggles into third round

“I don’t know anything about her, I have never seen her play,” Williams said.