Venus Williams bows out to Van Uytvanck in first round at US Open

Two-time former champion Venus Williams bowed out of what may well be her last ever US Open in typically battling fashion on Tuesday, going out 6-1, 7-6 (5) to Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck in the first round.

In her 23rd US Open and record 91st Grand Slam match, the 42-year-old – champion at the US Open in 2000 and 2001 – fought valiantly in the second set but was edged out in the tiebreak.

After the match, Venus gave no indication if she will play again at the US Open or elsewhere.

“Right now I’m just focusing on the doubles,” she said. “I’m excited about the moments I had this summer and I went out there and did the best I could in the circumstances.” She will play the women’s doubles with her sister Serena Williams.

Venus has not managed a win in 2022

“To play a legend of our sport like Venus was an honour,” world No 43 Van Uytvanck said.

Van Uytvanck started strongly and Venus, who has not managed a win in 2022, looked all at sea as the first set drifted away.

But true to form, she came out firing in the second set, gaining an early break as she led 3-1. Van Uyvanck got the break back but Williams stayed on serve throughout the rest of the set and was up early in the tiebreak only for the Belgian, helped by a couple of outrageous returns, to win it 7-5 and clinch victory.

The Belgian will play French qualifier Clara Burel, who beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the first round.

US Open, New York City (Grand Slam), other first-round results so far

• Belinda Bencic (13) beat Andrea Petkovic: 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
• Aliaksandra Sasnovich beat Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Q): 6-2, 6-4
• Clara Burel beat Elena Rybakina (25): 6-4, 6-4
• Anastasia Potapova beat Claire Liu: 6-1, 6-4
• Anhelina Kalinina beat Bernarda Pera: 6-4, 6-4
• Petra Kvitova (21) beat Erika Andreeva (Q): 7-6 (3), 6-0
• Sloane Stephens beat Greet Minnen: 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
• Jessica Pegula (8) beat Viktorija Golubic (Q): 6-2, 6-2
• Iga Swiatek (1) beat Jasmine Paolini: 6-3, 6-0
• Aryna Sabalenka (6) beat Catherine Harrison (Q): 6-1, 6-3
• Kaia Kanepi beat Tereza Martincova: 7-6 (4), 6-3
• Sorana Cirstea beat Laura Siegemund: 6-4, 6-4
• Marie Bouzkova beat Linda Noskova (Q): 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-2
• Karolina Pliskova (22) beat Magda Linette: 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (8)
• Linda Fruhvirtova (Q) beat Xinyu Wang: 6-3, 6-4
• Garbine Muguruza (9) beat Clara Tauson: 6-3, 7-6 (5)
• Qinwen Zheng beat Jelena Ostapenko (16): 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
• Leylah Fernandez (14) beat Oceane Dodin: 6-3, 6-4
• Viktoria Kuzmova (Q) beat Sara Sorribes Tormo: 6-3, 6-4
• Liudmila Samsonova beat Sara Bejlek (Q): 6-3, 6-1
• Serena Williams beat Danka Kovinic: 6-3, 6-3
• Aleksandra Krunic beat Elina Avanesyan (Q): 6-4, 6-4
• Anna Karolina Schmiedlova beat Nadia Podoroska: 6-3, 6-2
• Anett Kontaveit (2) beat Jaqueline Cristian: 6-3, 6-0
• Barbora Krejcikova (23) beat Fernanda Contreras Gomez (Q): 6-0, 6-4
• Shelby Rogers (31) beat Arantxa Rus: 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
• Ajla Tomljanovic beat Karolina Muchova: 6-3, 7-6 (5)
• Shuai Zhang beat Jil Teichmann (30): 6-4, 6-2
• Elena-Gabriela Ruse beat Daria Saville: 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
• Rebecca Marino beat Magdalena Frech: 6-2, 6-3
• Evgeniya Rodina beat Martina Trevisan (27): 7-5, 6-1
• Ons Jabeur (5) beat Madison Brengle: 7-5, 6-2
• Xiyu Wang beat Diane Parry: 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
• Madison Keys (20) beat Dayana Yastremska: 7-6 (3), 6-3
• Harriet Dart beat Daria Kasatkina (10): 7-6 (8), 1-6, 6-3
• Camila Giorgi beat Anna Bondar: 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
• Beatriz Haddad Maia (15) beat Ana Konjuh: 6-0, 6-0
• Coco Gauff (12) beat Leolia Jeanjean (Q): 6-2, 6-3
• Maryna Zanevska beat Coco Vandeweghe (WC): 6-1, 7-5
• Dalma Galfi beat Nuria Parrizas Diaz: 6-4, 6-3
• Daria Snigur (Q) beat Simona Halep (7): 6-2, 0-6, 6-4
• Elizabeth Mandlik (WC) beat Tamara Zidansek: 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-4
• Bianca Andreescu beat Harmony Tan (WC): 6-0, 3-6, 6-1
• Maria Sakkari (3) beat Tatjana Maria: 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
• Veronika Kudermetova (18) beat Donna Vekic: 7-5, 6-3
• Camila Osorio beat Ann Li: 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
• Alison Riske-Amritraj (29) beat Eleana Yu (WC): 6-2, 6-4
• Caroline Garcia (17) beat Kamilla Rakhimova (LL): 6-2, 6-4
• Anna Kalinskaya beat Rebecca Peterson: 6-4, 6-3

You might also like this

Beaten Kovinic enjoyed Serena battle: “Her shots were not as crazy as sometimes it seems on TV”

tennis majors

Kontaveit on playing Serena Williams: “No pressure on the result, I take it as a unique experience”

tennis majors

“I’m going to stay vague because you never know” – Serena Williams evasive on final tournament after first round win

tennis majors

Ukrainian qualifer Snigur stuns seventh seed Halep, into second round

tennis majors

First Top 10 win for Dart, shocks Kasatkina to make US Open second round

tennis majors

US Open: Zheng through to second round, eliminating Ostapenko

tennis majors

Linda Fruhvirtova, 17, sets up Muguruza clash at US Open after first win at major

tennis majors