NEW YORK (AP)—Venus Williams has an unhealthy love for doubles.
Had sister Serena entered the U.S. Open, she might have teamed with her even on a balky knee. But Serena Williams pulled out after surgery for cuts on her right foot. So Venus is getting some extra rest—and is through to the third round.
The third-seeded Williams beat 179th-ranked qualifier Rebecca Marino of Canada 7-6 (3), 6-3 on Wednesday. She hadn't played in two months when she arrived at the Open coming off a sprained left kneecap.
"I'm glad that I'm just in the sngles," she said. "That way I have the opportunity to recover between rounds and to get ready to play the next one."
Williams is a seven-time Grand Slam champion—really, a 22-time winner if you count doubles with her sister and mixed doubles, a number she relishes hearing. She acknowledged after her first-round match that it would have been hard to skip doubles, especially after the sisters failed to win at Wimbledon this year.
She never had that option.
Now Williams can only chase the singles title at Flushing Meadows. She won't have to face Tsvetana Pironkova, who eliminated her at Wimbledon, in the third round. The No. 32-seeded Bulgarian was upset by qualifier Mandy Minella of Luxembourg in straight sets Wednesday. Pironkova had defeated Williams in two of their previous three meetings, including a straight-set win in the Wimbledon quarterfinals June 29.
Williams was briefly in trouble Wednesday, when Marino went up 3-1 in the first-set tiebreaker. That brought out the 22-time major champion in Williams.
"I did notice at one point that she started to grunt pretty loudly," Marino said. "And it's like, 'Whoa, she's getting serious here."'
RUDE WELCOME: Bradley Klahn stumbled upon a novel way to calm the nerves in your first Grand Slam match—though the other men would probably rather not emulate it.
The NCAA singles champion had come to the net against 20th-seeded Sam Querrey, and his fellow American shanked his attempt at a passing shot. Klahn was so surprised the ball was flying right at him that he wasn't able to get out of the way—and it struck him in a very sensitive location.
"It's not going to get much worse than getting hit right there in front of all the fans," Klahn said later, able to laugh about it afterward. "It definitely lightened the mood, I'd say."
The 20-year-old Klahn, who got in the U.S. Open with a wild card, won a set off Querrey before losing 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday.
"I felt bad because he's my buddy," Querrey said.
Klahn's solid showing, with some of his fraternity brothers boisterously cheering him on in Louis Armstrong Stadium, won't shake his determination to return to Stanford for his junior year. The economics major said his parents badly want him to get that Stanford degree.
COOL RUNNINGS: Dustin Brown posted a historic victory for Jamaican tennis Wednesday. He's still holding out hope he'll have the chance to represent his country some more.
Brown beat 92nd-ranked Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (6), 7-5 in the opening round, the first win by a Jamaican man at a Grand Slam since 1974.
The 25-year-old Brown was born in Germany (his mother is German), but moved to Jamaica as a child (his father is Jamaican). He has expressed frustration with a lack of support from the Jamaican federation, even floating the idea of playing for Britain in Davis Cup because of a British grandparent on his father's side.
Tennis Jamaica elected banker Aubyn Hill as its new president Aug. 19, and Brown said he was open to hearing from the federation's new leadership.
First he has a second-round U.S. Open match to play. Brown will face his potential future British teammate, fourth-seeded Andy Murray.
Brown became the first Jamaican man to win a Grand Slam match since Richard Russell in the first round of the 1974 French Open. That was also the last time a Jamaican man even played in a major before Brown lost in the first round at Wimbledon this year.
Brown had a vocal cheering section Wednesday from New York's large Jamaican community, and he expects even more backers for his next match.
"I know the Jamaican guys are coming," he said. "They will be on my side. I don't know about anybody else."
USHERING IN: The USTA announced that its charitable arm, USTA Serves, will partner with music star Usher's New Look Foundation for the next three years to mentor youth to become leaders. The program will look to expand opportunities for service and tennis.
Usher conceded of his tennis skills: "I'm not that good myself."
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