Venus Williams was planning on spending this week with her feet up on a well-earned vacation in Thailand before she received a late invite to the AIG Japan Open.
A long-held love for Tokyo meant Williams' holiday plans were put on hold and instead she was on court Tuesday giving Jill Craybas the chance to take a break of her own, beating her fellow American 6-3, 6-1 in the first round.
"I had a free week in Asia and I was actually going to go to Thailand on vacation for a week, but the tournament asked me to play and I thought 'I love Tokyo, I love Japan, so why not?' " former world No. 1 Williams said.