Gallant Venus Williams plays through injury in Australian Open loss to Sara Errani

Venus Williams produced an inspiring performance as she played through injury and great discomfort in her straight-sets loss to Italian qualifier Sara Errani at the Australian Open.

Williams was troubled by ankle and knee injuries but chose not to retire, before going down 6-1, 6-0 to Errani on John Cain Arena.

The 40-year-old’s decision to play on was admired by the small crowd attending the match, who enthusiastically cheered every point she won when she was clearly in pain.

Williams appeared to roll her…