NEW YORK — Venus Williams was headed to a third set at the U.S. Open in her first Grand Slam match in two years on Monday night, facing 2023 French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Williams dropped the opening set 6-3, then took the second by a 6-2 score.

She started slowly, ceding 11 of the initial 13 points and falling behind 2-0. With members of the crowd shouting, “Let's go, Venus!” and roaring after her winners, Williams took the next three games to go ahead 3-2, before Muchova grabbed the next four to claim that set. But Williams broke to begin the second set on her way to tying the match.

At age 45, Williams is the oldest singles player at the hard-court tournament since Renee Richards was 47 in 1981. She wasn't exactly easing into things Monday: Muchova, a

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