Venus Williams explains why she feels sad for Victoria Azarenka

in the first round match of her first tournament in the season. At the ASB Classic in Auckland the American player defeated the Belarusian in three sets, and in a press conference she admitted it was a tough opening.

In the first match you just want to get a rhythm, said Venus. So I cant say in the first match of every season I want to play a former No 1 in the world and this is the second year in a row for me with that sort of stuff.

So I wouldnt mind if someone else did that, but at the end of the day you get your mind ready and you say Im here to play tennis to perform and try your best. Unfortunately, someone has to lose and she played a match that was well worth winning and its just one of those things. Venus headed into the court being extremely focused as she knew that it would have not been an easy match: Its definitely a relief.

She played really well. I knew I could play better, so that was always something that was in my mind. It was honestly more like finals level match. It was a shame that we had to play each other early and it was discombobulating also because you have to start the first match of the season in a sprint, but also play within yourself because you havent played any matches.

So it was a little bit confusing out there. Honestly, we both need more matches to play even better. ALSO READ: Rafael Nadal: Worse players than David Ferrer won a Grand Slam title