TC Plus Match of the Day: Ash Barty vs. Venus Williams, Birmingham

Ashleigh Barty (WTA No. 2, UTR No. 1) vs. Venus Williams (WTA No. 55, UTR No. 35)

The transition from clay to grass is undoubtedly the toughest in tennis, but Barty is making it look all too easy. The French Open champion has been cruising through the Birmingham draw, but will now face off against Williams, one of the greatest grass-court players the sport has seen.

Barty’s game is as naturally suited to the grass as any player in recent memory. She will knife her backhand slice against the 6' 1'' Williams to keep the ball low and out of her strike zone. In addition, she will look to use stellar net game to keep Williams at bay and away from the net herself, a place she is not afraid to approach.

"Once I get back on the grass, I feel like a different person," Barty told press after her first-round win in Birmingham. "It's a different tennis match, a different way that the ball is struck and it comes through. But I feel extremely comfortable on it."

The oddsmakers agree Williams is a considerable underdog. For the five-time Wimbledon champion to have a chance against the hottest player in the world, she will need to serve her way to the finish line, keeping points short and sweet in the process.

"It's not often I get to play in a new city in front of a new crowd, so this is pretty exhilarating actually," Williams said Wednesday. "When you get a wild card, you hope to do something with it."

On paper, this is quite possibly the most exciting matchup of the grass-court season so far. Given her current form, Barty is certainly the favorite, but don’t count out the 39-year-old on a surface she loves.