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Venus Williams was one game away from being ousted from the Australian Open’s first round on Tuesday before coming all the way back to eliminate 25th-seeded Mihaela Buzarnescu, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Williams needed more than two and a half hours to pull out the victory and avoid what would have been her fourth opening-round loss in her past six appearances in Melbourne.
This is the first time in five years that Williams is not seeded at a Grand Slam tournament. She is a seven-time major champion and a two-time runner-up in Australia but is currently ranked only 36th.