Illness forces Venus out of tournament

VENUS Williams revealed she is suffering from the auto-immune disease Sjogren’s Syndrome after withdrawing from the US Open prior to her second-round match yesterday.

The two-time former champion’s clash with 22nd seed Sabine Lisicki had been expected to be one of the highlights of the third day’s play, but instead the German, who reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon this year, was given a free passage through.

Williams, 31, came into the tournament not having played since Wimbledon because of the illness, which she had not named until now, and she did not appear entirely comfortable during her first-round win over Vesna Dolonts.

She said in a statement: “I’m really disappointed to have to withdraw from this year’s US Open.

“I have been recently diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an auto-immune disease which is an ongoing medical condition that affects my energy level and causes fatigue and joint pain.

“I enjoyed playing my first match here and wish I could continue, but right now I am unable to. I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and am now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon.”

Her sister Serena was on her best behaviour and ominously close to her top form when she made her long-awaited appearance at the US Open.

There was no repeat of the foul-mouthed tirade that she disgraced herself with at Flushing Meadows two years ago.

This time, she was all smiles and business-like when she demolished Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski 6-1, 6-1 in less than an hour.

“I’m always glad to be done with that first round,” Williams said. “I feel like when I’m done with that, then I can kind of go through and just play. I’m glad that one’s over. It took a long time, it seems.”

It was a clinical and ruthless display from Williams, who has won the US Open three times, but is still on probation for her outburst two years ago.