体坛英语新闻：Radwanska, Kerber, Venus ease into U.S. Open second round

FLUSHING MEADOWS, New York, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska, sixth-seeded German Angelique Kerber and two-time champion Venus Williams all took easy victory Tuesday to reach the U.S. Open second round.

Poland's Radwanska thrashed Russian Nina Bratchikova 6-1, 6-1 in 54 minutes. The 23-year-old Polish converted on six-of-seven break-point chances against the U.S. Open debutant.

Radwanska, who reached her first-ever Grand Slam final last month at Wimbledon where she succumbed to Serena Williams, will meet Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round, where Radwanska bowed out the last three years in Flushing Meadows.

The left-handed Kerber, who was a surprise semifinalist here a year ago and leads the WTA in match wins this year (54-16), routed Britain's Anne Keothavong 6-2, 6-0.

The in-form German will next round face Venus as the unseeded former world No. 1 blew away fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 6-1.

Venus struck serves as big as 124 miles per hour in her opening match, but the American veteran is 1-2 lifetime against the German, including a recent loss at the London Olympic Games.

Venus captured back-to-back U.S. titles in 2000 and 2001 and was the runner-up in 1997 and 2002.

Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 thrashing of Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. The 12th-seeded Serb is a former French Open champion and two-time Grand Slam runner-up.

20th-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci swept past Radwanska's younger sister Urszula 6-1, 6-1, while 30th-seeded former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic beat Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1, 6-2. Jankovic was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2008.

Andrea Hlavackova knocked out 24th-seeded fellow Czech Klara Zakopalova 6-4, 6-4, while Japan's Ayumi Morita dismissed 26th-seeded Romanian Monica Niculescu 6-3, 6-3, and Russian Elena Vesnina upset 32nd-seeded Chinese Peng Shuai 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Also advancing at the final major of the year were Suarez Navarro, Russians Vera Dushevina and Ekaterina Makarova, Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, Aussie Johanna Konta, Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva and Yaroslava Shvedova, Swede Sofia Arvidsson, Spaniard Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, and Serb Bojana Jovanovski.