NEW YORK (AP)—Venus Williams struggled early before reeling off the last six points of a tiebreaker and beating 193rd-ranked qualifier Rebecca Marino of Canada 7-6 (3), 6-3 Wednesday at the U.S. Open.
The No. 3-seeded Williams trailed 3-1 in the tiebreaker but responded with a cross-court backhand winner, followed by a forehand winner to get going and reach the third round at Flushing Meadows.
Williams won the U.S. Open in 2000-01 and never has lost earlier than the fourth round.
Wednesday’s match was the American’s second since late June, when she was upset in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Williams pulled out of two hard-court tuneup tournaments in August after injuring her left kneecap.
Marino never had faced a top-50 player.