ZHUHAI, China — Top-seeded Venus Williams rallied to beat Saisai Zheng of China, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 and advance to the semifinals of the WTA Elite Trophy on Thursday.
Williams hit six aces and saved two of four break points to dispatch of Zheng, who was granted a wild-card berth.
Zheng stormed out to a 5-1 lead in the first set with some aggressive groundstrokes. Williams caught up to 5-4 before the Chinese player closed the opening set after 44 minutes.
"You could see that she played amazing and she really is a future champion," Williams said of Zheng.