Williams eases through first round

Venus Williams began her defence of the women's singles title at the U.S

Venus Williams began her defence of the women's singles title at the U.S. Open with a 6-2 6-3 victory today over Lenka Dlhopolcova of Slovakia.

Williams, seeded fourth at the championships, needed just 52 minutes to dismiss the 109th-ranked Slovak qualifier, who was making her U.S. Open debut.

Williams made the most of her break point chances, converting six of eight, and powered 14 winners to just two for her opponent.

Next up for the 21-year-old will be an all-American second round match against Meilen Tu.