Andy Roddick and Venus Williams had no trouble moving past the first round of the U.S. Open, each beating fellow American opponents in their first round matchups Monday afternoon.
Roddick was paired against qualifier Rhyne Williams. Roddick's serve was on, and Williams didn't break him once through three sets, with Roddick winning 6-3 6-4 6-4. Meanwhie, Venus Williams looked about as good as anybody has seen her play since she withdrew from the 2011 U.S. Open with Sjogren's Syndrome, beating Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 6-1, including a string where she won 15 of 16 points in the first set. Advancing from the first round of a major had never been an issue for Williams before Wimbledon earlier this summer, where she lost to Elena Vesnina right off the bat. Perhaps Williams' dominant performance suggests a return to form for one of the all-time greats.
Meanwhile, American Sam Querrey bounced back after dropping the first set to beat Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5, and seeded players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, and Milos Raonic won their matches, with the 15th-seeded Raonic needing five sets to beat Santiago Giraldo in a match where he never served comfortably, racking up 15 double faults.
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