Williams’ serving was subpar in the deciding third but, backed by an adoring crowd, she overmatched the 19-year-old in Arthur Ashe Stadium. She broke for a 2-0 lead and then came back from a love-40 hole to make it 3-0. It was all but over at that point.
The oldest woman in the draw improved to a remarkable 19-0 in the first round of the US Open. Seeded ninth, Williams has an outside chance of returning to No. 1 if she goes on one of her signature runs at the Open. It’s certainly not out of the question, considering she’s reached at least the semifinals in three of the past five majors.
"Yeah, I didn't know about the race," Venus said. "I don't really tune into sports news, per se, especially when you're trying to prepare for an event. All you know is your own preparation—for me. Really, though, if I win my matches, I'll be No. 1 or No. 9 or No. 2—whatever number—but I would have won my match. That's, at the end of the day, my main goal."
Kuzmova wasn’t pleased with the loss, but she can take some encouragement from the fact that, in her first career main-draw WTA match, she forced Venus to a deciding set at her home Slam. (For context, this was Williams’ 967th main-draw WTA match.)
"I think experience helps me a lot," Williams said. "I feel like I've been experienced for a long time now. There's a point in your life or in your career where things click, and from there on it's like, 'OK, I think I know how to win matches, how to handle myself in situations.' That motif continues."
Next up for the seven-time Grand Slam champion is 20-year-old Frenchwoman Océane Dodin.