Venus Williams

Venus and Peers beat the Italian wildcard pair of Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori 6-3 3-6 10-7.

The match tie break wasn't quite as dramatic as their 14-12 win over Henri Kontinen and Jan Lennard Struff in the third round, but they did shoot out to a 5-1 lead only to see that evaporate before winning the last three points of the match.

It was a match of relatively few chances with Venus and Peers breaking serve twice from two looks and saving two of the four break points against their serve.

The youngest player in the women's main draw at just 15, Gauff advanced to the second round with a 7-6(5), 6-3 victory at Melbourne Park on the opening day of the first major of the year.

The 2020 tournament is Gauff's first time in the main draw in Melbourne.

Gauff also upset Venus Williams in the opening round at Wimbledon last year.

Earlier in the day, Venus' sister Serena Williams completed a more comfortable 6-0, 6-3 win over Anastasia Potapova.

Gauff, already the youngest competitor ever to qualify at the All England Club in the professional era, showed the poise and power of a much older, much more experienced player, pulling off a 6-4 6-4 victory in the first round over Venus Williams, who at 39 was the oldest woman in the field.

When it ended, Gauff dropped her racket and put her hands on her head. After a handshake and exchange of words at the net with Williams, Gauff knelt by her sideline chair and tears welled in her eyes. Up in the stands, her father leaped out of his seat.

The match, lasting 3 hours, 13 minutes, featured 20 service breaks, with neither player finding much confidence on their service games.

The 37-year-old Williams dropped her serve nine times, while the 20-year-old French Open champion conceded serve 11 times.

"I don't know if there was any luck for me tonight, I just had to work for every point,'' the fifth-seeded Williams said. "It's not easy to lose the first match, and both of us were in the same situation. What else can you do but fight to live another day?''

Barty has enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2017, claiming her first WTA Tour title and climbing into the world's top 50 for the first time.

However, prior to Wednesday, the Australian had lost all six of the matches she had played against top-10 opponents.

That winless streak was broken in Cincinnati as Barty overcame a second-set wobble to beat Williams 6-3 2-6 6-2.

"To play Venus on such a big stage is a privilege for me and to play as well as I did, I'm really excited," said Barty.

After some tense early exchanges, the Spaniard cut loose, winning nine straight games to claim a second grand slam title to add to last year's French Open.

The 23-year-old fell to the floor in celebration after clinching victory in an hour and 17 minutes. It was her second Wimbledon final, having lost to Venus' sister Serena on the same stage in 2015.

"Two years ago I lost in the final to Serena and she told me one day I was going to maybe win and hey, two years after here I am," she said in a courtside interview.

Konta was looking to become the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon final since Virginia Wade lifted the trophy in 1977, but she was picked off at crucial times by Williams, who claimed the last of her Wimbledon titles nine years ago.

Williams, who will face Garbine Muguruza in Sunday's final, broke in the 10th game to clinch the first set and then turned the screw on her sixth-seeded opponent, breaking twice more to wrap up the match.

Konta saved two match points before Williams crunched a forehand past the Briton and then twirled in celebration on Centre Court.

The five-times champion, who turned 37 last months, tamed the big-hitting Latvian with a rock-solid performance under the Centre Court roof, winning with something to spare.

Ostapenko turned women's tennis upside down when she rocketed out of the pack to claim her first professional title at the French Open last month and the feisty 20-year-old appeared to be gathering momentum on the All England Club lawns.

A rare French Open/Wimbledon double looked within reach for Ostapenko who had struck 121 winners en route to the last eight.

The Palm Beach Gardens Police Department reviewed video surveillance footage of the intersection where Williams' SUV was struck by another vehicle.

The driver, Linda Barson, was injured and her husband, Jerome, died two weeks later.

A police report initially alleged the seven-time grand slam champion was at fault for the incident, though she was not issued with any citations or traffic violations. There was also no evidence she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or distracted by an electronic device.

The 37-year-old, a five-time winner at the All England Club, wrapped up a 4-6 6-4 6-1 second-round success to mark her 97th main-draw match at the grass-court grand slam – a record for an active player.

The pair also met in the first round of the French Open, when Williams – who has endured an emotional week amid questions over her involvement in a fatal road accident – prevailed in straight sets, but it was a tougher test on this occasion against the world number 55.