Venus is a bit rusty in opener
READY to be an aunt and raring to contend for a U.S. Open championship that would catapult her back to the No. 1 ranking, Venus Williams, in a black visor, fought through three sets Monday. She then twirled and waved to the crowd in victory.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting or planning on dropping sets today,” she said. “But things happen. That’s why we play the match, because you have to win the match.”
Williams, 37, is the oldest woman playing at the Open. She is also one of eight women who entered the tournament with a chance to be the No. 1 player by fortnight’s end. She inched closer to that goal by beating Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 on Arthur Ashe Stadium’s court. Kuzmova, 19, commanded Williams’ attention, acing her elder 10 times, but Williams, who played her first match at Ashe in the year it opened two decades ago, fended off the woman who is ranked No. 135 in the world.
“I had no idea what she looked like, who she was, anything,” Williams said. “But she played amazing. She played well, served well, competed well. Definitely a match I had to earn.”
Williams is playing sans sister Serena, who is pregnant and expecting to give birth any day now, in the field. Venus is a two-time winner in Queens, having won back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001. There are seven Grand Slams on her resume. She knows she debuted on Ashe 20 years ago, but notes that there is no timetable for her career.
Serena is the first of the sisters to step away to start a family. “It’s definitely a different experience, especially for she and I, because we spent our whole lives focused, so focused on work,” Venus said. “So when you have an experience that is not work, it’s pretty intense. That’s all we do, is work and train and focus.”
Despite the distance, the sisters continue to talk tennis in advance of the arrival of Serena’s child. Serena has won six of her 23 Grand Slam championships in Flushing.
“Yeah, we always coach each other pretty much,” Venus said. “We know what it’s like to be out there, both of us. It’s like I know I relate to her, she relates to me. I know exactly what it feels like. It’s great to get advice from someone like that.”
It was the fourth straight first round match at the Open that Williams won in three sets. She maintained that the test only re-focused her as she moved forward.
“So it’s just all about regrouping,” she said. “It’s the first round. You figure out, you know, what’s going on.”