Aug 28, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Venus Williams of the United States returns a shot to Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia on day one of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Serena Williams is absent from this year's U.S. Open as she prepares to have her first child but if there is to be an American champion at Flushing Meadows again it is still likely to be a Williams.
With the American men experiencing their longest U.S. Open title drought in the Open era, Venus Williams led the American charge into round two on Monday with a 6-3 3-6 6-2 win over Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia.
