New York – Venus Williams She insists that she is not a good couple player. 14 major championship he and his sister Serena Won together, tell a different story.

Without her younger sister, Williams showed on Thursday that she is still winning a female doubles match at the US Open for the first time in more than a decade. Leyla Fernandez To defeat the sixth seeded pair Ludamla kchenoc And Allen perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.

When it was over, Williams, 45, turned his signature and gave a twist and Fernandez “the best partner I ever played outside Serena.” 22 -year -old Fernandez also reminded Serena’s Venus.

Williams said, “Our energy actually matches each other, which, in the context of giving up, in fact, in reality still focusing and dialing in everything,” Williams said. “It looked amazing because I never played with a partner – out of Serena, obviously – who had the kind of mindset, so it was really fun.”

Williams and Fernandez, 2021 single runners up in Flushing Meadows were heavy fans at almost full Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the chair umpire had to ask the crowd several times to remain silent.

The audience gave a permanent ovation to Williams and Fernandez, when he claimed the initial tiebreaker despite being 5–2 in that set-and was happy again after the match ended in 90 minutes.

“Leyla is a good player, (and) Venus is also a good doubles player,” Kchenok said. “They have played doubles many times. They know what it is. It took some time to adjust in the beginning, but then he got his rhythm.”

Fernandez felt “like a child on Christmas” and after receiving the call, Jumping with a smile on his face that Williams wanted to play a couple with her.

And Fernandez was surprised to hear compared to Serena.

Fernandez said, “This is probably the biggest praise that I have ever received.” “I think they are big shoes to fill.”

During the match, “We go here, Venus, here we go!” And read a hint at the stand, “Welcome to Williams Show.”

“Wow,” Williams, who was awarded the wild-card entry in the female couple draw, said in his on-court interview. “Thank you guys. Thank you for showing us.”

She had not won a women’s doubles match in New York since 2014, when she and Serena arrived in the quarter -finals since the 2018 French Open, or in any Grand Slam tournament.

The 14 major championships of sisters in women’s doubles came to Wimbledon in 2016.

Williams said, “This is an area in which I am not comfortable, which is in a couple court, but I think you reach some point in the match where you stop thinking about it.” “When the push comes to the dead body, I will do what I have to do, but I am a single player, so when I get out of there, I really just just tell myself to play single and try that method. I try that I am not something that I am not.”

Williams and Fernandez faced Ulrike IKeri and Eri Hozumi in the second round of the next round.

“I feel really great,” Williams said. “With some fate, we will live, maybe win another round and just getting better.”

Old Williams has won seven Grand Slam titles in singles and one and two in mixed doubles.

She was out of the tour for 16 months Return for action Playing a single and doubles at the City Open in July after 16 months of absence. He defeated Peon sternsThen to finish 35th in the world, to be The second oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match,

Williams too Played at Cincinnati Open Earlier this month and last week in US Open Mixed Doubles tournament Reilly OpelkaNecklace in the first round. This is the first major Williams to compete in all three incidents (single, women’s doubles, mixed doubles) since the 1998 Wimbledon.

Williams said, “With the amount of matches I played, I am progressing very quickly.” “I did not need to come back to play tennis, but finally I got my way back.”

In singles, Williams, the oldest person to play singles at the US Open since 1981, Karolina Muchova For three sets Before bending out In its 25th US Open Main draw appearance on Monday night – most by any player since the onset of the open era.

Thursday’s competition 2022 US Open, Serena’s final tournament was the first for Williams in doubles in one head.

ESPN Research and Associated Press contributed to this report.