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TOKYO .  — Venus Williams snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to beat fast-rising Romanian Simona Halep 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 and reach the quarter-finals of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament yesterday.
The 33-year-old American, who dominated women’s tennis a little over a decade ago but whose career has been blighted since being diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder Sjogren’s Syndrome in 2011, warned after her match in Tokyo that she had no thoughts of retiring. In any case, sister Serena would not let her, Venus said.

“I don’t know how I was able to win that match,” Venus told reporters. “She played unbelievable. I’ve never seen her hit the ball that hard. “It came down to who was more determined, who would fight harder and believe more. I’m glad that person was me.” Williams dropped the first set and was down 4-3 and a break in the second before producing an impressive comeback to set up a meeting with Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, who upset sixth seed Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-2 under a closed centre-court roof as rain halted play outside. Only Serena, with nine, has won more titles than Halep’s four in 2013 and the 13th seed gave Venus the runaround for a set and a half. — AFC