Venus Williams advances at US Open

Venus Williams reached the second round of the US Open on Monday by defeating Belgian 12th seed and Wimbledon semi-finalist Kirsten Flipkens 6-1, 6-2. Williams, ranked 60th, took just 84 minutes to avenge a loss to Flipkens at Toronto earlier this month and book a second-round date against China's Zheng Jie or Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens. "It's just good to be here, see familiar faces since my first time in 1997 with the beads and the braces," Williams said. "It's good to be back." Williams improved to 15-0 in US Open openers by beating Flipkens. "I started off fast and ended up slow," Williams said. "It was tough in the second set. I was glad to close it out." Source: AFP