NEW YORK — Venus Williams enjoyed a "New York Moment" at the U.S. Open. She probably never guessed she'd need one to pull her through the first round.

Dealing with a balky left knee and an opponent who didn't buy into the usual opening-night script, Williams needed 2 hours, 43 minutes to defeat Vera Dushevina of Russia.

The third-seeded Williams, who has never been ousted from the Open before the fourth round, trailed by a set and a break in the second before rallying for a 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3 victory Monday.

She didn't want to talk much about the knee, which brought on a 9-minute injury timeout during the first set, but instead preferred to talk about the crowd — especially the reaction when she was down 5-4 in the second, serving to stay in the match.

"One of those great New York moments," she called it.

Andy Roddick followed her onto the court. His match began at 11:08 p.m., and with blood dripping from a cut on his right ear, he made quick work of Germany's Bjorn Phau, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

He was still doing interviews at 1:15 a.m. The main topic: late matches at the U.S. Open.

"It's all part of it," he said. "Kind of the crazies that stay 'til 1 in the morning — there's something fun about that."

Buoyed — maybe saved — by that crowd, Williams was the only top contender to face serious trouble on a day that basically went to form.

Top-seeded Roger Federer began the quest for his sixth straight championship and third Grand Slam title of 2009 with a 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 victory over NCAA champion Devin Britton.

"My goal was to not get crushed," Britton conceded, "and make it interesting for a little while."

He was up a break in both the second and third sets, but couldn't capitalize against the world's top player.

Alexa Glatch found herself in essentially the same boat against Serena Williams, pushing the No. 2 seed in the first set before falling quickly in the second of a 6-4, 6-1 loss.

Kim Clijsters was the other headliner on Day 1. The 2005 U.S. Open champion, now with a 1-year-old daughter, returned to Grand Slam tennis after a 2Z\x-year layoff with an impressive 6-1, 6-1 victory over Viktoriya Kutuzova.

"Now it's a matter of trying to keep this going," Clijsters said.