Venus Williams defeated Kirsten Flipkens (12), who made a Women's Singles semifinal appearance at 2013 Wimbledon, in straight sets in the first round of the 2013 U.S. Open. With the victory, Williams continues her first-round streak at the U.S. Open alive. It's been 15 U.S. Open's for Williams now, so that's 15 straight tournaments where she has avoided first round elimination.
Williams isn't the dominant player we saw early in her career, but she played very dominant tennis Monday afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She beat Flipkens 6-1, 6-2. Aided by a powerful serve that topped out at 120 miles per hour, Williams was able to win early, winning 24/32 of her first serve points. She played great defense, winning 61 percent of her points when receiving.
For Flipkens, it's a very tough loss, but it was a very tough matchup to begin with. Williams is no longer a seeded player, but that does not take away from her athletic abilities. Flipkens was the No. 12 seed entering the tournament. Williams, on the other hand, is ranked at No. 60 in the ATP Rankings.
How does Williams explain her success and ability to consistently win year after year? "I thank mom and dad for good genetics," said Williams to ESPN's Tom Rinaldi immediately following her victory. Next up for Williams is the winner between Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands and Jie Zheng of China. Will Williams improve on her back-to-back second round exits at the U.S. Open? Som say she can beat out the rest of the players in her bracket and possibly face sister Serena Williams in a classic quarterfinal matchup.
