New York Post, Tuesday, August 27, 2019nypost.com41Venus, 39,
cruises into
2nd round
By BRIAN LEWIS
and GREG JOYCEVenus Williams is 39 years old,
and ranked outside the top 50. She
hasn’t gotten past the third round
of a major in two years. But Mon-
day she sure looked ready to turn
back the clock.
Williams eviscerated Saisai
Zheng 6-1, 6-0 in a first-round U.S.
Open rout that was every bit as
one-sided as it sounds. Maybe
more so.
“I was happy with [the perfor-
mance], so I’m not going to ask for
more. Whether the win is easy or
whether it’s tough, a win is a win,”
Williams said. “Getting to the next
round is about getting the win on
your side and building yourself up
during the tournament and pat-
ting yourself on the back for every
good achievement.”
Next up for Williams is No. 5
Elina Svitolina, who beat Ameri-
can teen Whitney Osuigwe. The
Ukrainian won this year’s French
Open meeting 6-3, 6-3.
➤No. 2 Ashleigh Barty bounced
back to beat Zarina Diyas 1-6, 6-3,
6-2 while No. 3 Kristyna Pliskova
fended off Tereza Martincova
7-6 (6), 7-6 (3). It was Barty’s first
match in Arthur Ashe Stadium
since winning the doubles title in
2018.
“A bit of a unique feeling, bi-
zarre feeling walking back out
onto Arthur Ashe,” she said. “It
was really cool. Different to what
it felt like during that match.”
➤Unseeded American Sam
Querrey, who made the U.S. Open
quarterfinals in 2017, lost in the first
round for the second straight year.
Argentinian Juan Ignacio Lond-
ero beat him 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
➤Defending champion Novak
Djokovic breezed through his
opener, defeating Roberto Car-
balles Baena 6-4, 6-1, 6-4. The top
seed will meet Londero in the sec-
ond round Wednesday.
“Very pleasant conditions,” Djok-
ovic said. “I really like the condi-
tions of the balls, the speed of the
court, the weather is fantastic. You
know, it’s just very enjoyable.”
➤American CoCo Vandeweghe,
a 2017 semifinalist, went one-and-
done for the second straight year.
She fell to fellow American No. 20
Sofia Kenin 7-6, 6-3. ... Eugenie
Bouchard also lost her opener,
dropping straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to
No. 12 Anastasija Sevastova.
US OPEN NOTES
QUOTE OF THE DAY
I ha ven’t taken it ina while but,I have
taken it.I think itworks. I’ma person that
lives in fast-forward.Walking frustrates
me. I have to run— I’m nota wa lker.
— Venus Williams after winning her first-round match on whether
she likes to use the NewYork subway systemOUT IN THE PENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPENPEN
TODAY’S FEATURED MATCHES
Louis Armstrong Stadium, 11 a.m.Andrey Rublevvs. StefanosTs itsipas (8)
Nicole Gibbsvs. Simona Halep (4)Arthur Ashe Stadium, noon
Anna Blinkova vs. Naomi Osaka (1)
ThomasFabbianovs. Dominic Theim (4)Arthur Ashe Stadium,7 p.m.
John Millmanvs. Rafael Nadal (2)AnnaKalinskaya vs. Sloane Stephens (11)Louis Armstrong Stadium,7 p.m.
Victoria Azarenka vs. Aryan Sabalenka (9)
Steve Johnsonvs. NickKyrgios (28)TODAY’S TV SCHEDULE
Noon-11 p.m., ESPNGetty ImagesUPSET OF
THE DAY
Germany’sAngelique
Kerber (above), the 2016
U.S. Open champion and
14th seed,was bounced in
the firstround by France’s
54th-ranked Kristina
Mladenovic, 7-5, 0-6, 6-4 in
2 hours, 24 minutes.A former
No. 1,Kerber hadwon four of
their last five meetings.TRAILBLAZER HONORED
Althea Gibson— who broke tennis’ color
barrier— was honored witha granite
statue outside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Raised in Harlem, Gibsonwas the first
African-American to play at theU. S.
national championships inForest Hills. She
was also the first to play (1951) and win
(1958) at Wimbledon.
“It wasn’t easy to beAfrican American
in the ’50s.I wo uldn’t even say easy, it
was impossible. And she did it andwasa
champion,”Venus Williams said. “I can’t
even imagine what shewent through....
She went through it soI didn’t have to.
“What she achieved, her story hasn’t
been told, so that statue is the beginning
of whatwe should be doing for Althea.”N.Y. Post: CharlesWenzelberg