TENNIS NEWS - Venus Williams sealed victory for defending champions the United States in their Fed Cup tie against the Netherlands Sunday and was poised to play alongside younger sister Serena, making her long-awaited comeback, in the dead-rubber doubles.
The surprise announcement came after seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus shook off a scratchy start in which she squandered an early 3-0 lead to allow Dutch opponent Richel Hogenkamp to draw level at 3-3, before fighting back to prevail 7-5 in the first set.
A demoralized Hogenkamp, who had used a combination of accurate serves and deft slices to hold her own in the first set, went down tamely in the second, 6-1.
Venus credited teammate CoCo Vandeweghe, who scored a hard fought win over Hogenkamp the day before, for paving the way.
