Despite of illness, Venus beats Petkovic at Paribas Open

Venus Williams played through an illness to win a seesaw opening round match against German Andrea Petkovic 6-4 0-6 6-3 at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday. Williams, who said she was not feeling 100 per cent, saved her best tennis for the biggest moments, breaking Petkovic for a sixth time in the final game to make up for a dismal second set.

Asked in an on-court interview to describe the encounter, the 38-year-old former world number one was almost at a loss for words. "I don't know honestly. I'm still trying to figure it out," she said to laughs from the crowd on a sunny and windy day in the California desert.

"Every day is not your best day but that doesn't mean the heart and desire aren't there." The win sets up a mouthwatering second-round clash with third seed Petra Kvitova, who holds a 4-2 edge in their previous meetings.