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.

Venus Williams put up a fight. But she came up short Monday night after pushing No. 11 Karolína Muchová to a third set in the first round of the US Open.

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.