6 Jan 2015

Venus feeling ready for tennis classic

3:28 pm on 6 January 2015

The American tennis star Venus Williams is one of the bigger names in action on day two of the women's tennis classic in Auckland.

Venus Williams

Venus Williams Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The 34-year-old faces Slovakian world number 56 Jana Cepelova in the first round this afternoon.

The seven-time grand slam winner says she's feeling ready to get back to work.

"I've been hitting the ball well, but when you get into a match it's a whole new ball game but thankfully I've got the experience of being in a lot of matches so I think I'll be able to handle the moment. No match is easy, all the players here are very talented, everybody's motivated. I'll just have to focus and get in there and do it."

Directly after Williams' match the top seed Dane Caroline Wozniacki will take to centre court.

She plays Israeli qualifier Julia Glushko in her first round clash.

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