2012 Family Circle Cup - Williams sisters into 2nd Round

Venus Williams hits balls to the fans after the match

40th Ann. FCC plate with Top 8 seeds autographs

Tuesday tennis at the 40th Family Circle Cup tennis tournament included fan favorite Venus Williams playing at noon in the stadium court versus Iveta Benesova. The first set was a tight one that Williams won, despite Benesova appearing to be the more relaxed opponent. Williams is a former Number 1 player in the world, with 43 singles titles which include 7 Grand Slam titles, and she has an astounding career earnings of nearly $28 million dollars. Williams won the first game of the second set but Benesova laid down two slices for winners in the second game that combined with an ace to even the set at one all. They played to deuce twice in the third game, and by the sixth game Venus had been running harder, and Benesova kept up the slice shots until Venus adjusted to them. Williams broke her opponent's serve in the eighth game and won the set and match in a one-hour and 20-minute match. Williams applauded the crowd and stroked tennis balls into the stands for the fans to gather. After the match, in the media tent, she said that Benesova had 'hands like feathers' with the slice shot winners and that she was glad to move on into the second round of play where she will meet Jelena Jankovic. Doubles tennis got underway on Tuesday with a spirited match on Court three between Grandin / Uhlirova and Klepac / Rosolska. In the night match Serena Williams was able to defeat Vesnina in straight sets. For all results visit the FCC website.

Benesova executes a slice shot against V. Williams

Tracy Austin is a part of the FCC history

To view past blog entries on the 2012 Family Circle Cup click here.