Czech 11th seed beats 45-year-old 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 to reach second round
Flushing Meadows bids farewell to American possibly for last time
Venus Williams’ 25th US Open singles appearance ended at the first hurdle with defeat to Karolína Muchová, despite a stirring second-set comeback by the 45-year-old American that briefly threatened an upset at Flushing Meadows.
Muchová, the Czech 11th seed and 2023 French Open runner-up who has twice reached the semi-finals in New York, recovered to take the third set with the loss of just one further game and progress into the second round with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory.
The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s action
