New York: Playing her first match in two months, Venus Williams powered her way to a 6-4, 6-3 victory over a travel-weary Vesna Dolonts of Russia at the US Open on Monday night.
Williams hit six aces and 28 winners against the 91st-ranked Dolonts, who caught a 4 a.m. EDT flight from Moscow and didn't arrive at the tournament site until about four hours before her match. She had flights cancelled on Saturday and Sunday because of Tropical Storm Irene, which caused New York airports to be closed.
"I'm not sure I expected to be so sharp," Williams said.
All in all, Williams looked far more dangerous than the average unseeded player does. She is unseeded at Flushing Meadows because she's ranked only 36th after entering the tournament having played 10 matches over the past 50 weeks.
"I just want to play tennis," said Williams, whose seven Grand Slam singles titles include the 2000 and 2001 US Opens. "It doesn't matter what the tournament is, I just want to play. Obviously the Open is huge, but I just want to play."
"I just need a chance to play. So the season hasn't really even started yet for me," she added. "It's been like a blip here and a blip there."
The 31-year-old American hadn't played a match since June 27, when she lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon. After that, she missed the recent hard-court tuneup tournaments because of a viral illness. She wouldn't say exactly what she was diagnosed with but described it as "energy sucking."
After withdrawing from the Australian Open in January because of a hip injury, Williams missed about four months, then came back at a grass-court tournament in England a week before Wimbledon.
"No one is more in 'one match at a time' mode than me now," she said.
Then again, Williams is accustomed to missing time but still playing well.
In 2010, she was sidelined between Wimbledon and the US Open by a left knee injury, yet made it all the way to the semifinals in New York.
"Last year, I had little-to-no preparation also, too, so I hope can I play just as well as I did last year," Williams said. "There's been some unlucky summers."
Because she's unseeded, Williams could face some tough tests this week. She might meet 22nd-seeded Sabine Lisicki, a semifinalist at Wimbledon, in the second round, and 14th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in the third round.
So a promising opening performance — even if it came against the 91st-ranked Dolonts, who wasn't necessarily in position to provide a lot of resistance.
"Confidence comes with execution. So, I mean, to come out and win a first-round match, that helps a lot. Being in tight situations helps a lot," Williams said. "But the good part is that at least I have experience, and that helps with my confidence, that I know how to handle situations and scenarios."
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