NEW YORK—Venus Williams took to Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday afternoon looking for her 70th career U.S. Open victory. The world No. 6 had little trouble reaching that milestone, defeating Germany’s Julia Goerges, 6-2, 6-3, and advancing to the third round.
Williams is playing in her record-setting 72nd Grand Slam, and to say that she’s comfortable in Arthur Ashe Stadium is a vast understatement. While the rain disrupted play on all other courts, these two got to close out the day session under the new roof, in front of a happily dry crowd.
In the first set, the seven-time Grand Slam champion drew first blood, edging ahead of her 27-year-old opponent 4-2. The world No. 64 struggled to hold her serve throughout the match, winning just 53 percent of her first-serve points in the first set.
Goerges also hit more than twice as many unforced errors as Williams. One of the 36-year-old’s biggest goals was to keep her unforced errors down. After her three-set win on Tuesday, she noted her tendency to spray shots against opponent Kateryna Kozlova.