Venus Williams, at age 45, returned to the US Open and took No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova to three sets before losing in the first round.

Even at age 45, even after two years away from Grand Slam tennis, Venus Williams displayed some big serves and powerful groundstrokes at the U.S. Open on Monday night in front of a supportive crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium,

She underwent surgery for uterine fibroids and a subsequent health issue that was initially misdiagnosed as Sjogren’s syndrome. It resulted in a 16-month layoff, and she just returned last month at the Citi Open in Washington, beating Peyton Stearns and losing her next three, including Monday to Muchova.