American Sofia Kenin beat 46-year-old compatriot Venus Williams 6-2 7-6(6) in a US Open first-round match that began at 12.13am on Monday, the latest start in women's tournament history.
Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, will next face top-ranked American Jessica Pegula.
The match at Arthur Ashe Stadium got underway after Novak Djokovic's five-set defeat by Mariano Navone, with a sizable contingent of fans staying on well past midnight for one more look at Williams, who was playing as a wild card in her 96th career Grand Slam main draw appearance.
Williams said afterwards: "It's not ideal. I would have preferred something else definitely. It wasn't great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best.
"I just don't know any other sport where you have to start that late. I definitely think there's room for improvement there. It's not easy to do in the first round. It's not easy to do it at 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. in the morning to try to find your rhythm and play your best, but I tried my best."
#williams #round
Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, will next face top-ranked American Jessica Pegula.
The match at Arthur Ashe Stadium got underway after Novak Djokovic's five-set defeat by Mariano Navone, with a sizable contingent of fans staying on well past midnight for one more look at Williams, who was playing as a wild card in her 96th career Grand Slam main draw appearance.
Williams said afterwards: "It's not ideal. I would have preferred something else definitely. It wasn't great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best.
"I just don't know any other sport where you have to start that late. I definitely think there's room for improvement there. It's not easy to do in the first round. It's not easy to do it at 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. in the morning to try to find your rhythm and play your best, but I tried my best."
#williams #round
17 days ago
