Melbourne: Venus Williams opens 2021 in style at Yarra Valley Classic

In 2020, Venus Williams waited until August to pick her up first (and ultimately only) victory of the year when she defeated Victoria Azarenka in Lexington.

On Sunday in Melbourne, Williams ensured her 2021 started in far different fashion by cruising past Arantxa Rus, 6-1, 6-3, at the Yarra Valley Classic. As a result, Venus increased her incredible streak to 28 consecutive seasons with at least one tour-level win.

Here's a rundown of her terrific day at the office presented through a series of GIFs.

There were early nerves for Williams, as she was forced to erase three break points in the opening game.

Williams consistently let it fly on her forehand, which in turn, forced Rus to stay on her back foot.

The 40-year-old American found herself in a hole on serve throughout the opening set, but came up clutch when she needed to.

Williams would go on to save all seven break points she faced en route to taking a one-set lead. This backhand down the line was a standout, for sure.

Rus began more positively by holding to open the second, but Williams remained locked in. The seven-time major singles champion showed she could still go from defense to offense in the blink of an eye.

There was no breaking her serve today thanks to rockets like this. In set two, Venus won 16 of her 18 points at the line.

On her second match point, Williams converted when the left-hander's forehand sailed long.

That winning feeling was punctuated with a signature Venus celebration.

By advancing, Williams set a second-round clash with another lefty, No. 4 seed Petra Kvitova. The Czech leads their head-to-head series 4-3, though Venus won their most recent encounter at 2019 Indian Wells.

Among Sunday's additional winners included Jessica Pegula, Shelby Rogers, Tsvetana Pironkova and Daria Gavrilova.