By Rory Carroll
INDIAN WELLS, California, March 5 (Reuters) - Venus Williams said it is still a thrill to play in front of a home crowd during her three-set, first-round loss on Thursday at Indian Wells, a tournament she first played in 30 years ago.
Williams, 45, enjoyed the full backing of the crowd on a sunny and windy day in the California desert but the seven-time Grand Slam champion ultimately fell 6-3 6-7(4) 6-1 to 22-year-old qualifier Diane Parry of France.
"I have amazing fans that believe
in me, and it's fun to play for them, or even in practice when they come out," Williams said.
"It's very thrilling. Today was a tough one, but that's sport and that's life, and I'll take what I need to from it."
The former world number one turned back the clock to win the second set tiebreaker, raising her fist in the air as the crowd erupted, but was outmatched in the third set and is now 0-5 on the year.
"Today is not the kind of day that you want to assess. The conditions were impossible," she said, referring to the swirling winds on Stadium One.
"Also, my match in Austin the conditions were impossible. I have played the last two matches in very difficult conditions."
Playing as a wildcard, she is still in the doubles draw of the tournament.
Venus, a native of Southern California, made her Indian Wells debut in 1996.
Venus and sister Serena endured racial taunts in 2001 leading to a boycott of the event for nearly 15 years before returning in 2016.
Speculation has ramped up about whether 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena will come back to the sport this year, as players including Novak Djokovic have predicted.
"I think you should definitely ask her that," Venus said when asked whether she would be playing doubles with Serena this year.
Serena has not confirmed a possible comeback but recently shared a video on social media of her and fellow American Alycia Parks practicing.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Indian Wells; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
