Chance for Venus to glitter at night

Chance for Venus to glitter at night
ASSOCIATE PRESSE

NEW YORK, AUGUST 28: The numbers add up for Venus Williams.

Of course, that would mean her younger sister Serena would be dethroned as US Open women's singles champion.

``Venus is playing very well,'' said Monica Seles, who lost to Williams the elder in the Pen Pilot final Saturday. ``Her serve is very strong and physically she gets back a lot of balls, so that is a very tough combination. It puts pressure on your own serve.''

Seeded third, the reigning Wimbledon winner begins her US Open bid when she faces Anne-Gaelle Sidot of France. The match also celebrates the 25th anniversary of the first night match in Grand Slam history.

Following Venus Williams onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium stage will be defending men's champion Andre Agassi, who will begin the quest for his second major title of the year against NCAA champion Alex Kim. Agassi began 2000 by winning the Australian Open.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario was scheduled to get Day One underway against Joannette Kruger of South Africa. The veteran Sanchez-Vicario, who won this tournament in 1994, is seeded ninth this year.

Scheduled to be second on was to be 1997 winner Martina Hingis, seeded No 1, against Russian Alina Jidkova.

Then will come Pete Sampras, a four-time US Open champion reigning king of Wimbledon, where he won his men's record 13th Grand Slam tournament title. Sampras, who missed last year's tournament because of injury, takes on Martin Damm of the Czech Republic.

In other key matches to begin the fortnight, Seles, twice a winner here, faces fellow American Tracy Almeda-Singian; Jennifer Capriati, seeded at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 1993, tokes on on Switzerland's Emmanuelle Gagliardi; and No 8 Nathalie Tauziat plays Bulgaria's Orlin Stanoytchev in the women's draw.

In men's matches, No 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, No 9 Lleyton Hewitt, No 11 Tim Henman, No 13 Franco Squillari and No 16 Nicolas Lapentti were on the first-day schedule.

While Williams the younger won't begin the defence of her title until Tuesday, Venus will be seeking her 20th match win in a row against Sidot. Since the French Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals, Venus has been unbeatable.

So, does Williams think she has a good chance to win the US Open? ``I definitely think so,'' Williams said. ``A lot of times it isn't always about playing well enough, it's about which points you play well and how you feel in your mind. As long as I am mentally there, my chances are really great.''

She has beaten Lindsay Davenport, the 1998 Open winner who is seeded second this year, four times in their last five meetings and the last three times they have battled on hardcourt. And she has beaten Hingis in three of their last four meetings.

``Venus is probably playing the best tennis on tour right now,'' Seles said.