Venus loses marathon match to No. 6 seed Kerber

Venus Williams seemed destined for a storybook win, healthy and in Arthur Ashe Stadium with the crowd chanting her name, urging her to rally past Angelique Kerber. But in the end, whether it was the German’s toughness or Williams’ autoimmune disease, Kerber, the No. 6 seed, pulled out a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 second-round win.

Williams repeatedly charged to net and hit 43 winners but she made 60 errors and sent her final return into the net. Kerber managed to control her emotions and ignore the crowd which chanted “Let’s go Venus! Let’s go Venus!” She rallied from 4-2 down in the final set to earn a third-round date with Olga Govortsova.

“It’s unbelievable. I started one year ago [here]. I had such great memories from last year,’’ Kerber said. “It was so tough. Venus is a great player, has won so many Grand Slams. I’m happy to be here in New York, [ though] everybody was against me. But it’s a great feeling to play the night session.

“I just tried to focus on my play, my game plan, fighting every point until the last. I’m very happy to be in the third round here.’’

Williams suffered through four years of fatigue, aches and pains, finally diagnosed as Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder. Her legs appeared weary and she looked tired at many points, but she came from behind to snatch the second set 7-5, doing it by aggressively coming to net.

The German lefty was more than happy to try to extend rallies, 19-2 in three set matches and fully aware a 2:45 match took its toll on Wiilliams, who was forced out of last year’s Open because of the Sjögren’s Syndrome.

“It’s amazing that I won so many third sets this year. I try to keep focus and hope to continue this,’’ Kerber said.

Despite the tough loss, Williams has shown she’s healthy again and getting back to form.