Venus wins first match since Open in Luxembourg

LUXEMBOURG (AP) -- Venus Williams cruised through her first match since the U.S. Open, beating 15-year-old WTA rookie Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-3, 6-1 Tuesday in the first round of the Luxembourg Open.

Williams struggled with a back problem at the U.S. Open but said she felt better in her return to the court, breaking Bencic five times and losing her own serve only once in the first set.

Earlier, top-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy beat an inconsistent Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-0, 2-6, 6-0 to reach the second round. Jelena Jankovic also advanced when China's Peng Shuai retired with a shoulder injury with the former top-ranked Serb leading 3-0.

Second-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany beat Spain's Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-2, 6-1, and Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens beat Sabine Lisicki of Germany, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.