Venus Williams is used to being the star out on court — anywhere actually. Today, though, she stepped aside and let the Double Fault take centrestage — 15 of them that threatened to reduce the former world No 1 to a mere sidekick.

However, just when things seemed to be getting out of control, the six-time Grand Slam champion decided to take matters into her own hands.

Last night, she and Serena had failed to overcome the wits and weaponry of Peng and Tiantian Sun in their doubles match; this evening, Venus may have felt a certain kind of deja vu. Especially when Peng saved two match points in the second set tie-break before drawing level.

The American recovered just before she was sent tumbling over the edge, successfully fighting off the Chinese challenge of Shuai Peng 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-2 to move into the quarter-finals of the $600,000 Bangalore Open.

She plays seventh seed Vera Zvonareva, who beat Ukrainian qualifier Agnes Szatmari 7-6 (5), 6-1, in the quarters.

The initial stutter didn’t give an indication of things to come, as she pocketed the first set comfortably, reeling off four games in a row to win it 6-2. But the second set was a whole new ball game. Three double faults in the fourth game gave Peng her first break of the match, and though the American did manage to fight her way to a tie-break, it wasn’t over just yet.

A double fault on set point in the tie-break pointed the way to a third set, and a longer evening.

... contd.