NEW YORK (AP) — Venus Williams won a women’s doubles match at the U.S. Open for the first time in more than a decade — and this time without her sister, Serena — teaming with Leylah Fernandez on Thursday to defeat the sixth-seeded pair of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.

The 45-year-old did her signature twirl-and-wave when it was over and called Fernandez, who is 22, “the best partner I ever played with — outside of Serena.”

Williams and Fernandez, the 2021 singles runner-up at Flushing Meadows, were heavy fan favorites at a nearly-full Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the chair umpire had to ask the crowd multiple times to keep quiet.

The spectators gave Williams and Fernandez a standing ovation after they claimed the opening tiebreaker despite trailing 5-2 in that se

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