Venus Williams advanced to the Australian Open third round with an unimpressive 7-5 6-4 victory over France’s Camille Pin.

The former world number one had to come from behind in both sets (from 4-5 in the first and 2-4 in the second) to beat the battling Frenchwoman. Even though Pin defended well, the encounter was close because Williams made a lot of unforced errors and her serve was not remarkable either. In the first set the eight-seeded Williams double-faulted four times, and made 21 unforced errors to Pin's 11. The second set was quite the same story for Williams, two double faults and 23 unforced errors.

Venus Williams next faces Indian Sania Mirza who showed the controversy is not affecting her play as she managed to focus on tennis and advance at the Aussie Open. (photo via Getty Images)

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Rumors are flying that six-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams and PGA Tour golfer Hank Kuehne took their about-a-year-long relationship to the next level. Reportedly, the couple got engaged over the weekend, but they are trying to avoid the media attention in order not to distract Venus who is currently preparing for the Australian Open. It’s said that Venus is very happy, so we can all be happy for her and wish them all the best. (via Great Dating Services)

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Venus Williams graduated in fashion design from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, and the Williams family certainly had a good time throughout the day. The celebration continued into the evening with the graduation after party and launch of Venus’ EleVen clothing line in Miami.

Who was there to support Venus? Father Richard, mother Oracene Price, boyfriend Hank Kuehne, and of course sister Serena, famous for always being ready for partying.

For more photos that illustrate what the celebrations were like visit WTA World and Down the Line.

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Isn’t this a fantastic photo? It reminds us of the old times and the beginnings of Venus Williams’ brilliant career. It also illustrates that an important part of becoming a champion is not to forget to take a little break from practicing and simply have fun.

Haha. As one member of the forum where I found the photo remarked, Venus’ father Richard could have said “I got this child prodigy for free because I bought 500 tennis balls”.

I’ve also collected cute photos of other tennis starts when they were kids. Check out Ana Ivanovic, Monica Seles, Kim Clijsters, or Lindsay Davenport.

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Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams have reorganized their schedules and decided to skip the Medibank International in Sydney.

The two former world number ones will instead prepare for the 2008 Australian Open at the J B GROUP Classic exhibition in Hong Kong which will take place from January 2-5. Apart from Sharapova and Williams, the exhibition in Hong Kong will include Daniela Hantuchova, Elena Dementieva, Ana Ivanovic, Anna Chakvetadze, Peng Shuai, and Caroline Wozniacki.

However, world’s top-ranked player Justine Henin will participate in the Sydney's tournament as the leader of the women’s draw.

The 2008 Medibank International will be held at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre from January 6-12.

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