NEW YORK, NY, USA - The American contingent went 1-2 on another hot day at the Open, as Venus Williams made it by a tough Canadian challenger but Melanie Oudin and Vania King, the next-highest ranked Americans in the draw, fell in intriguing contests to seeds on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Williams, the No.3 seed and a two-time champion at the US Open, was the first of the three to get on court, beating Rebecca Marino, 76(3) 63. Marino took it to Williams in the first set with her big serve and powerful forehand, pushing it to a tie-break and even building a 3-1 lead; but in her first match against a Top 50 player she couldn't hang on and Williams won six points in a row for the set. The former No.1 got one break in the second set and rode it to victory.

"She served so big and would go for the first shot. It was windy too. In matches like this it's good to play as cleanly as possible, try to get a break and close it out, leave the conditions behind," Williams said. "Things are going well. I'm getting to live my dream every day... I'm a hard-working woman."

See 20 of Venus' best career moments in this special gallery.

Williams is playing her first event since Wimbledon after missing the summer lead-up with a knee injury. "So far I feel good. I made a quick turnaround this summer to get ready for the Open, and I'm glad I'm just in singles, because that way I have a chance to recover between rounds. I'm going match by match."

With Serena Williams' withdrawal, Venus Williams is the highest-ranked American in the draw at No.4. The next two highest, No.43 Oudin and No.74 King, were both ousted on Wednesday, Oudin losing the last 12 points in a 62 75 loss to No.29 seed Alona Bondarenko and King battling hard to close a third set gap but falling to No.24 seed Daniela Hantuchova, 57 63 64.

"The nerves got the best of me today, especially in the first set. It kind of overwhelmed me a little bit," Oudin said. "At least now, coming into next year, no one will really expect that much from me. I guess that's good. But I gave everything I had today. I still have hopefully 10 more years in my career, hopefully 10 more US Opens ahead of me. I'll definitely be looking forward to next year, and this is still my favorite tournament. I love New York City.

"Alona is a really good player though. I hope she does well in the next round."