HONG KONG (AP) Venus Williams lost 6-4, 6-2 to second-ranked Vera Zvonareva at the Hong Kong Classic exhibition tournament on Thursday in her first match since the U.S. Open.
Williams was sidelined with a left knee injury for the last part of the 2010 season and was using the tournament as a warmup for the Australian Open.
The two players traded breaks in the second and third games of the first set before the Russian broke to love in the fourth. Zvonareva broke again in the first game of the second set and extended her lead to 5-2 with another break.
She closed out the match when Williams' forehand return landed wide.
Earlier Thursday, American teenager Melanie Oudin was up a set and a break but lost to Maria Kirilenko 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-0.