At 35 years old and dealing with Sjogren’s Syndrome, Venus Williams doesn’t have the speed or endurance she once did. Since being diagnosed with the chronic ailment, the oldest player in this U.S. Open field has suffered in the heat and struggled in three-set matches.
But on Wednesday, Williams reached down deep and reached the third round with a 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 win over Irina Falconi. She kept alive the tantalizing possibility of an all-Williams sibling duel in the quarterfinals, and a shot at ending her sister Serena’s quest for a Grand Slam this year.
“[Falconi] really competed well and played a great tiebreaker. I was really impressed with those great drop shots,’’ Williams said.
“Yeah, after losing the second set she played a great tiebreaker. In the third set I felt like I had a lot more clarity … and I had the crowd behind me.’’
That’s expected. This is William’s 17th U.S. Open, and she won her first back in 2000, following with another title the very next year. But she hasn’t gotten past the third round since 2010, losing in the first round once, the second round twice and finally the third round last year. Can she knock off Swiss teen Belinda Bencic and get past that plateau?
“[That first title] is so long ago I can’t remember,’’ Williams said with a laugh. “But it’s been wonderful to have such a long career. I love what I do, and I hope it’s entertaining.’’
She left the cowed entertained with a match that made up for in drama what it might have lacked in crispness.
Williams breezed through the first set, then served for the match not once but twice in the second set. But she couldn’t put away Falconi, who forced a tiebreak and won that 7-2 to set up a third set.
It was a gut check for Williams, who has struggled in three-set matches since the onset of Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease. She had lost three of her last four three-set matches at the U.S. Open before pulling out a 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3 opening win over feisty Monica Puig. She pulled out another on Wednesday, overcoming 47 unforced errors with some big serves in the third set.
“Yeah, definitely just hoping to continue to clean up my errors, try to play aggressive at the right moments and make it come together,’’ Williams said. “But I feel like I’m playing the important points well.’’
The same could be said of Bencic on Wednesday. The Swiss teen argued with the chair umpire, burst into tears during a changeover, and faced triple match point in the second set. But in the end she fought back to beat Misaki Doi 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3.