Easy does it for Venus, Nadal; Safin packs up

NEW YORK – Venus Williams moved on, Rafael Nadal came back and Marat Safin said goodbye at the US Open on Wednesday.

Her left knee heavily wrapped, the third-seeded Williams defeated fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-4, 6-2, in a much easier match than she had two nights earlier when she fell behind a set before rallying against Russian Vera Dushevina.

No. 3 Nadal, whose sore knees kept him out of Wimbledon, returned to Grand Slam play with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win over Richard Gasquet, while Safin, another former world No. 1, closed out his Grand Slam career, losing to Jurgen Melzer of Austria, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

Nadal conceded his top ranking to Roger Federer, whose bid for a sixth consecutive US Open championship - and third Grand Slam title in a row this year - progressed with a 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Simon Greul of Germany in front of a night-session record crowd of 24,206.

Next for Federer is a matchup against two-time major winner Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, who defeated Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Federer has won 13 matches in a row against Hewitt, including in the 2004 US Open final.

Williams hurt her knee in the opener, and the heavy tape she wore for the second round confirmed the injury was more than just a tweak. But the two-time US Open champ, who fielded no fewer than a dozen questions about her health in the postmatch interview, insisted she wouldn’t use it as an excuse.

“I’m still playing well and I feel I’ll continue to play better as the rounds go on,” she said. “I’m trying not to make this injury a factor at all.”

She said she had no plans to pull out of the doubles with her sister, Serena, where they are trying to add the US Open to their Australian and Wimbledon titles this year.

“My mentality for doubles is, it’s a major title and I love winning majors,” Venus said. “It’s not a decision I take lightly. I’m going to do my best to be able to prepare.” (AP)