Tatjana Maria tops Venus Williams in Hobart, a favorite of her daughters

Germany’s Tatjana Maria defeated Venus Williams 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday in the first round of the Hobart International, a match that carried historic weight on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

Hobart: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The first career meeting between the two produced the oldest combined age in a WTA Tour match since the circuit’s founding in 1973, with Maria competing at 38 and Williams at 45. The mother of two broke serve five times in the 1-hour, 27-minute victory, using her slice-heavy game to full effect in windy conditions on Day 2 of main-draw play in Tasmania.

The win marked Maria’s first of the season, coming one week after she was upset by 17-year-old Emerson Jones in the opening round of the Brisbane International -- a result that may have landed less comfortably at home, given that Williams is one of the favorite players of Maria’s daughters, Charlotte, 12, and Cecilia, 4.

Maria joked afterward the girls profess the former World No. 1 to be one of their favorite players -- though she hoped they were rooting for her.

"Everybody loves Venus -- I love her too!" said Maria, who makes her family home near Williams in Florida. "For me, to play her was such an honor because I never played her before. It was not easy with all the wind but it was amazing."

Maria's win capped what proved to be a difficult day for the two major champions that featured on Hobart's order of play.

Earlier, Barbora Krejcikova was slowed by knee trouble in a 2-hour and 32-minute contest against Peyton Stearns -- the American's first victory since the US Open. The Czech received a medical timeout after the first set and carried on admirably over an eventual 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(3) defeat.

Stearns served for the match twice in the final set, and missed two match points, before she converted her third chance for victory in the tiebreak. 

Other winners on Day 2 in Hobart included third seed Iva Jovic, who like Bondar won the first 11 games of her 6-0, 6-1 romp against Indonesia's Janice Tjen, Magdalena Frech, who pulled away in a 6-4, 6-0 win over France's Elsa Jacquemot; and Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova, a three-set winner against Jacquemot's countrywoman Varvara Gracheva.

However, No. 1 seed Emma Raducanu's opener against Camila Osorio was rained off with the Briton leading 6-3, 2-4, deuce. Raducanu's solidity had seen her take the first set over the less consistent Osorio, but the Colombian hit her stride to take a 4-1 lead in the second set.

After two short pauses for drizzle, the first extended off-court delay came as Raducanu served at 4-2, 15-30 in the second set. On resumption, the pair managed to play only three points -- all ended with clean winners -- before play was called for the day.