Odds stacked against Venus

Her 6-4, 6-1 first round win over Roberta Vinci of Italy looked straightforward enough for the third seed, but it was just her first game since July when she crashed out of Wimbledon in the quarter-finals.

That defeat was followed by a sprain injury to her left kneecap that even cast doubt on her participation at Flushing Meadows, but Williams is trying to stay positive in the face of the adversity.

"I guess my only advantage would be that I'm hopefully mentally a lot fresher and physically hopefully a lot fresher than maybe my opponents who played all summer," she said.

"You know, I got to try to look at it in a positive way and bank on my experience.

"That helps a lot because I've had a lot of winning experience. And also that I'm generally a very confident kind of player, so that helps, too. Really just trying to take all the positives."

Particularly upsetting for Venus is the absence of sister Serena, who would have been the top seed were it not for a freak incident in a Munich restaurant shortly after winning Wimbledon where she trod on glass, badly cutting her feet.

The two have always been very close since they exploded onto the scene over a decade ago, having won 20 Grand Slam singles title between them as well as teaming up in a formidable doubles partnership.

It will be the first time that Venus has played a Grand Slam tournament without Serena being in the draw since Wimbledon 2006 when, as defending champion, she crashed out in the third round.

"I don't think it's the same for me or for tennis or for American tennis at all that she's not here," she said of her younger sister.

"Definitely affects the doubles draw, too. So it's not the same, but that's sport. Sometimes you deal with injury and you just come back stronger. So I know she will."

Asked if she would be playing women's doubles with someone else, Venus shot back: "I only play with Serena Williams."

Adding to the pressure on Williams' broad shoulders that she is the only American player listed among the 32 seeds and is the only realistic hope of fending off the European challenge for New York tennis fans.

Such a seeding setup would have been thought impossible just a few years ago when the Williams sisters, Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati were all contesting for Grand Slam titles.

But the next generation of US players has failed to step up to the mark and with Serena also closing in on her 30th birthday, there are genuine concerns for the future in the United States Tennis Association.

Venus, though, sees little to be concerned about.

"I think us American players who are playing, we feel like we do a really good job of holding up the flag," she said.

"We've been spoiled in American tennis since really the very beginning of tennis to have so many great champions, such a tradition.

"So, there's a little bit of a time where there aren't five or six Americans in the top 10, but at least there's one or two."