Venus Williams’ doubles run is far from a ceremonial goodbye.
Williams and her partner, Leylah Fernandez, advanced into the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles bracket Monday, dispatching the 12th-ranked duo of Ekaterina Alexandrova and Shuai Zhang 6-3, 6-4, in less than 75 minutes at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
At age 45, Williams had more zip on her serve than any of the other three women in the match, regularly hitting triple digits.
She also was terrific at the net, controlling the tempo and continually putting pressure on the opposition.
Leylah Fernandez and Venus Williams are pictured during their doubles match Sept. 1. Getty Images
“I have full confidence in Venus, and I hope she has full confidence in me during our match,” Fernandez said during her on-court interview. “We’re just going out there, playing our game: be offensive, aggressive and ready for the ball.”
Williams and Fernandez, 22, are unseeded and entered the doubles tournament as a wild card, but should not be counted out as a potential contender.
They could run up against top-seeded Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinals in what would be a heavyweight fight featuring the two highest-profile Americans in the doubles bracket.
“I think it’ll be so fun,” Williams said. “… Taylor’s had a great tournament. She’s been really fun to watch. I feel like the whole world is watching her. She’s played so well. Obviously, No. 1 in doubles, too. Leylah and I will just try to do our thing.”
The crowd at Armstrong was entirely on Williams and Fernandez’s side, cheering for both and displaying signs encouraging them.
The pair controlled the match from the start, going up a break immediately and never trailing in either set.
Williams was broken in the second set to make it 3-3, but she and Fernandez closed that door as quickly as it opened.
Down 40-15 in the following game, they won four consecutive points to go up 4-3 and didn’t look back from there, staying in control to close out the match.
Venus Williams hits a shot during her doubles match at the U.S. Open on Sept. 1. Getty Images
Though her attempt at playing in the singles draw ended quickly, as Williams lost to Karolina Muchova in the first round, it wasn’t the end of her comeback attempt, and doubles have proven a more suitable platform for the 45-year-old.
Fernandez described herself as a “sponge” playing alongside Williams.
“It’s kind of soaking everything in,” Fernandez said. “It’s a huge opportunity for me to learn from such a great champion.”
Williams holds 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, but her last one was all the way back in 2016, when she and her sister, Serena, won at Wimbledon.
Venus joked Monday that she wanted her sister to come to New York for the quarters.
“She’s so happy for Leylah and I and she’s given us advice. We just need her in the box,” Williams said in her on-court interview. “So my message is: Serena, you need to show up.”
In her news conference afterward, she was asked what it would take to get Serena to make the trip.
“If she came up, it would be a dream for both of us,” Williams said. “We’d have her on the court coaching. We’d force her to hit, even though she doesn’t hit often. It’s probably best she doesn’t come ’cause we’d probably bully her.”