Venus soaking in Birmingham debut at age 39

In her Birmingham debut, Venus Williams played on Ann Jones Court, named after the 1969 Wimbledon champion. It's a special year for Birmingham, with Venus taking part in her first non-Slam grass event in eight years.

Venus opened singles action with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich, and took note of the 50th anniversary of Jones' Wimbledon title.

"I thought she was about 50. She's looking good," Williams said. Jones, a former world No. 2, turns 81 in October, and is from Kings Health, Birmingham.

"It's a great anniversary and that's amazing, I had no idea, so she's probably still hitting the ball well for all I know," Venus said. "But it's my first time and I have not played a lot historically before Wimbledon, so this is very new for me and very exciting. And it's not often I get to play in a new city in front of a new crowd, so this is pretty exhilarating actually and when you get a wildcard you hope to do something with it."

The 39-year-old teamed up with Great Britain's Harriet Dart in doubles, but they lost their opening match. Dart is 22, Sasnovich is 25, and Wang Qiang, who Venus beat on Thursday, is 27. And yet Venus is unperturbed by the age gap.

"Honestly, age is just a number and, as long as you are fit and doing the work, anything is possible," she said. "Honestly, it is just about wearing your sunscreen so that way you don't look like a raisin. I put mine on."