On This Day: Venus Wins 600th Match, 2012

Due to the ongoing global health crisis surrounding COVID-19, professional tennis has announced a suspension of the 2020 competitive season through June 7. During this time, USTA.com is opening up our archives and taking a look back at memorable, monumental and notable moments in the history of American professional tennis that took place "on this day." 

On this day, eight years ago in Miami, Venus Williams scored a milestone victory in the midst of an inspiring comeback season.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion arrived at the Miami Open—then called the Sony Ericsson Open—in March of 2012 ranked outside the Top 100, and surrounded by question marks. The previous summer, prior to her second round match at the US Open, Williams announced that she had been diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease characterized by fatigue, and muscle and joint pain—and her future in the sport looked uncertain. 

She was forced to withdraw from the Open and subsequently shut down her season, which saw her end 2011 ranked world No. 102—her lowest year-end ranking since 1997. Williams also missed the ensuing Australian swing and returned to tennis in February as a member of the U.S. Fed Cup team, but needed a wild card for a place in the main draw at the season's second WTA Premier Mandatory event with a ranking of world No. 135. 

A three-time champion in Miami, and finalist in 2010, Williams scored a dominant 6-0, 6-3 victory over Japanese veteran Kimiko Date in her first singles match since August, to set up a meeting with reigning Wimbledon champion and No.3 seed Petra Kvitova, who'd burst on the scene the previous July and stormed to her first Grand Slam title at the All-England Club, and later won the season-ending WTA Finals. 

"I think in some ways we [she and Kvitova] play a very similar game. Obviously, she's been playing very well in the last 12 months or so. It's just totally a credit to her,"  Williams said after beating Date.

"I'm going into this just focused on executing my game and just trying my absolute best, and execute my game more than anything, which is the same thing she'll be trying to do.

"Just to be in this tournament is a huge win for me. That's what I told myself going in, that this is a win. I have nothing to lose, just to gain. Just to get back at this level is a win for me.

In a match that lasted over two hours under the lights in Key Biscayne, Williams earned a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 victory over Kvitova—sprinting through to the finish in the decider after two tight sets. The victory over the world No. 3 was Williams' first over a Top 3 player since 2009, and made her the 14th WTA player to record 600 career wins on tour. 

"I didn't really realize the set was 6‑Love. I was just trying to win the match. I was trying to get to 6. I didn't even think about that it was 6‑Love until long after the match was over," Williams said after the match.

"It was definitely gratifying... Everything, every shot is a victory and a blessing, so it's like I'm just going for it. I just want to feel good.  I just want to feel good enough to play. That's all I ever want when I get on the court. If I don't, then I just try to mentally be tough. So that's what I try for."

Ultimately, Williams reached the quarterfinals as a wild card, losing to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwanska. The run shaved nearly 50 places off her WTA ranking, putting her back inside the Top 100, and helped propel her to several other milestones in 2012.

She and her sister Serena partnered to win a third gold medal in doubles at the London Olympics, and she won her 44th WTA career title, her first in over two and half years, at the 2012 BGL Luxembourg Open in October, to ultimately return to the Top 25 by the season's end. 

To date, Williams and Kvitova have played a total of seven times dating back to 2008, five of which took place following this meeting in Miami. All seven matches have gone three sets, and Kvitova owns a 4-3 head-to-head edge.