Williams gets wildcard for record 24th US Open

Venus Williams won the 2001 US Open women’s singles title by beating younger sister Serena in the finalTwo-time champion Venus Williams is set to compete in a record-extending 24th US Open after being handed a wildcard for this month’s Grand Slam event.Williams, 43, made her main-draw debut at Flushing Meadows in 1997, going on to win the 2000 and 2001 titles.The world number 533 will extend her own record of Open era singles appearances in New York.Two-time finalist Caroline Wozniacki, who is making a comeback after retiring in 2020, is also among the wildcards.Dane Wozniacki, 33, will play in her third tournament since returning to the WTA Tour earlier this month. The US Open, which is the final major event of the season, starts on 28 August.On Wednesday, Williams plays China’s Qinwen Zheng in the second round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.The former world number one, who beat a top-20 player for the first time in four years with victory over Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Monday, will look to win back-to-back matches on the WTA Tour for the first time since the 2019 event in Cincinnati.Williams could go on to meet Polish world number one Iga Swiatek, who continued her preparations for the defence of her US Open crown with a ruthless 6-1 6-0 win over American Danielle Collins.American world number three Jessica Pegula also reached the last 16 with a 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 6-3 win over Italy’s Martina Trevisan.Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic won 6-4 6-2 against Russia’s Anastasia Popatova, while Russian 14th seed Daria Kasatkina also progressed by beating France’s Varvara Gracheva.In the men’s singles, Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev moved into the last 16 with a 6-3 6-2 win over Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.Medvedev, who claimed the title in 2019 before going on to reach the US Open final, faces Germany’s Alexander Zverev next.Zverev won 7-5 6-4 against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, while American Tommy Paul, a runner-up at the Canadian Open last week, beat France’s Ugo Humbert 6-1 7-6 (7-4).Paul faces Spanish world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the last 16.

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