By Erik Gudris | Monday, August 27, 2018
Venus Williams continued her perfect winning streak in US Open first round matches with a three win.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
In a meeting of former US Open champions, Venus Williams battled past Svetlana Kuznetsova to keep her perfect record of opening round wins alive at the US Open.
The 16th seeded Williams needed almost three hours before dismissing former 2004 champion Kuznetsova 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 on a hot and humid day inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The win added to the 38-year-old Williams impressive records as she competes in her 20th US Open and her 80th career Grand Slam.
“It’s not an easy match when you are playing a former US Open champion in the first round. We’ve had a lot of competitive matches and it seemed like she played her best whenever I was up. It wasn’t easy closing out that match and I have so much respect for her and I was just happy to win today,” Williams told ESPN’s Pam Shriver just after the match.
The rare meeting between two former champions in the opening round was considered something of a toss-up.
Kuznetsova, now ranked just outside the top 100, entered having recently won the warm-up event in Washington, D.C. Williams, for her part, had not played many matches this summer due to ongoing issues with her elbow and knee. The head to head was tied at five-all.
Early on, Williams looked in complete control of the match. But that was before the Russian veteran elevated her game to push Williams into an unexpected third set.
Williams, a two-time US Open winner, seized the advantage in the opening set after trading early service breaks with Kuznetsova. With strong serves and excellent volleys, Williams quickly took the first set 6-3.
With Kuznetsova struggling to make a dent in Williams’ serve, it was the American who looked ready to close things out in straight sets. Williams jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set and later held two match points on Kuznetsova’s serve at 5-3. The Russian saved both of those and then held serve to force Williams to serve it out up 5-4.
Williams couldn’t though as she threw in a bad service game that allowed Kuznetsova to break back for 5-all. With the momentum on her side, Kuznetsova raised her level and soon claimed the set 7-5.
With the heat rule in effect, both players left the court for a 10 minute break. That seemed to help Williams more who broke Kuznetsova in the opening game of the final set. Williams started playing as she had in the opening set with better serving and by taking control of the baseline rallies. Once again, she found herself with a 4-1 lead.
Kuznetsova mounted one last comeback attempt as Williams struggled to close out the match. Williams enjoyed a crucial service hold for 5-3 as the match neared the three hour mark. Williams in the next game raced out to a 0-40 lead on the Russian’s serve. Now with her fifth match point, Williams ripped a forehand winner to seal the three set victory.
The match statistics proved how close this opener was with Williams hitting 48 winners to 45 unforced errors while Kuznetsova struck 40 winners to 38 unforced errors.
Williams will next face Italy’s Camila Giorgi in the next round. If Williams wins, she possibly could face her sister Serena Williams in the third round.