In the first round, Venus Williams was defeated. US Open, as Ons Jabeur struggles to recover from sickness.
At Arthur Ashe Stadium, Minnen defeated 43-year-old Williams, who had been granted a wild card entrance into the event, 6-1, 6-1.
Reuters said it was the seasoned American’s most crushing loss at the US Open since her 1997 debut.
Following her historic 100th US Open match, Williams told reporters, “My preparation was minimal.” However, it didn’t significantly impact most of my performance.
“I believe just a few shots were lacking my footwork.” I missed a lot of backhands because my feet were just not there. That is typical when one does not play a lot of basketball.
The seven-time grand slam winner has only participated in nine tour-level matches this year, winning three before the competition.
She rapidly dropped to a 0–4 disadvantage in the first set against Minnen but eventually tied the match with a hold of service.
The 26-year-old did, however, do a good job of varying her shots as she tried to move Williams about the court. She quickly seized a 5-0 lead in the second set after winning the first, and Williams’ forehand into the net sealed the triumph moments later.
Regarding her opponent’s performance, the former world number one said, “I have to give credit to her.”
It was amazing. If she can play at this level, she could be ranked in the top 10, maybe even No. 1, or win a grand slam.
In an attempt to get to the third round of a grand slam for only the second time in her career, Minnen will next take on Sachia Vickery; an American ranked 204th in the world.
Jabeur struggles with her sickness.
In the women’s singles draw, Ons Jabeur, the runner-up from the previous year, had physical difficulties during her 7-5 7-6(7-4) victory against Camila Osorio.
The Tunisian, who lost the Wimbledon final last month, struggled to breathe throughout the match and often cleared her throat between points.
Despite being evaluated by a physician after the first set, she prevailed in the 50th Grand Slam Singles match by fighting strongly against the Colombian.
“It wasn’t a simple match,” Jabeur said in her interview on the court. “She has amazing playing. I’m not feeling well right now. I told her I was not feeling good when she inquired.
“I’m such a warrior, she told me, and I apologized for bringing the doctor onto the court,” I realize it might be difficult to play a player who is injured or not feeling well on the court, but I didn’t do it on purpose. But she handled it rather well.
In the second round, Jabeur will take against Linda Nosková of the Czech Republic.
Though France’s seventh-seeded Caroline Garcia fell 6-4 6-1 to China’s Wang Yafan, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and American Jessica Pegula both won in straight sets on a day that had few shocks for the top-ranked players in the women’s field.
