Errani beats Venus Williams in US Open third round

Thirteenth seeded Sara Errani of Italy defeated Venus Williams 6-0, 0-6, 7-6 (7-5) to advance to the US Open round of 16 here.

Williams had beaten Errani in straight sets in all three of their previous meetings, reports Xinhua.

However, Errani Friday night avenged her earlier defeats by dumping the American player out of her home Grand Slam.

Errani started brightly winning six straight games to claim the first set.

Williams returned the favour, answering her opponent with a 6-0 win in the second set.

Williams was 5-2 up in the third set, but Errani kept fighting back and tied the score 5-5.

The tiebreaker saw Errani take a 5-2 lead but Williams levelled the score 5-5. Errani won the next two points to finish her big win in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"First set I started very good, very aggressive, and I was playing very good," said Errani.

"She didn't put up too many first serves, so maybe that was key. And the second set I started a bit down with the legs, not pushing too much on the ball, and she was coming in the court."

Errani will meet 32-year-old Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who upset second-seeded Simona Halep.