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HOBART, Australia (AP) \u2014 Venus Williams lost 6-4, 6-3 to Tatjana Maria in the first round at the Hobart International on Tuesday, less than a week before her appearance at the Australian Open.<\/p>\n
The 45-year-old Williams received a wild-card entry<\/a><\/span> for the first Grand Slam event of the year. She also had a wild card to play in Hobart, where she lost to sixth-seeded Maria in a match lasting almost 1 1\/2 hours. <\/p>\n Williams also lost<\/a><\/span> her first-round match at Auckland, New Zealand last week.<\/p>\n The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, who is 576th in the world rankings, broke 38-year-old Maria\u2019s serve in the opening set. But Williams dropped serve twice, handing the set to Maria, who is 42nd on the WTA rankings.<\/p>\n Tournament officials said the match featured the highest combined age \u2014 83 years \u2014 of a singles match in the history of the WTA.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crowd was amazing. Usually I play a really big game and it\u2019s fun to watch,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI felt I couldn\u2019t play that with the wind. I felt bad I wasn\u2019t able to give that performance I usually give. I was in control until I wasn\u2019t … I just need to keep going and doing that and earn my stripes. I\u2019ve been away a while.\u201d<\/p>\n Maria, who has two children and has won three of her four titles since becoming a mother, hoped the pair could send a message to younger players.<\/p>\n \u201cFor all the little girls out there … that they have time and can improve and play (for) longer,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m a professional tennis player but I\u2019m also a mom and we have a normal life.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams has made the Australian Open singles final twice \u2014 in 2003 and 2017 \u2014 losing to her sister Serena both times.<\/p>\n The Australian Open begins Sunday. Williams has not played at Melbourne Park for five years and will break the age record held by Kimiko Date, the Japanese player who was 44 when she contested the 2015 Australian Open.<\/p>\n In another first-round result in Hobart, two-time major winner Barbora Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1<\/a><\/span> lost to Peyton Stearns. Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1, ranked 55th and unseeded in Hobart, lost to Stearns 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4).<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP tennis: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/tennis<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n