NEW YORK – Venus Williams was bothered by a bad knee and distracted by more than a half-dozen foot faults. What never fazed her: a big deficit.

Quite close to losing in the first round of the U.S. Open for the first time, Williams came all the way back from a set and a break down to beat 47th-ranked Vera Dushevina of Russia, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3, Monday night.

“I had a challenge on my hands today. But I wanted to win,” said the No. 3-seeded Williams, who made 54 unforced errors. “Each good shot, and each not-so-good shot, I put behind me and looked forward to the next one.”

Williams, twice the champion at Flushing Meadows, had her left knee bandaged by a trainer after the third game. The American also had plenty of trouble serving: She piled up 10 double-faults and was called for seven foot-faults.

Afterward, Williams wouldn’t discuss her knee problem in any detail.

“You could see I had some issues,” she said. “I don’t really talk about my injuries, historically, and I’m not going to start now.”

Dushevina broke for a 3-1 lead in the second set and was three points from winning at 5-4.

“Next few points,” Dushevina said, “she played great.”

That is true: Williams won the next seven games.

Still, there was a bit of shakiness left. Up 4-0 in the third set, Williams dropped three games in a row before righting herself once again.

Williams owns seven Grand Slam titles; Dushevina only once has been as far as the fourth round at a major tournament. Williams entered Monday 43-3 in first-round matches at tennis’ four majors, including 10-0 at the U.S. Open.

The 2-hour, 43-minute match did serve as the most intriguing encounter of a Day 1 that included victories for defending champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams, Venus’ younger sister, and for 2003 champion Andy Roddick.

Taking to the court after 11 p.m., because his match followed Williams-Dushevina, Roddick easily advanced with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over 84th-ranked Bjorn Phau of Germany. Roddick pounded serves at up to 145 mph, put 81 percent of his first serves in and collected 13 aces in a match that finished at 12:45 a.m. Tuesday.

About 12 hours earlier, Kim Clijsters, who recently came out of retirement, began Monday’s action by winning her first match at the U.S. Open since claiming her lone Grand Slam title in New York in 2005.

Clijsters’ 6-1, 6-1 victory over 79th-ranked Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine was the 26-year-old Belgian’s first Grand Slam match since January 2007. In the intervening two-plus years, Clijsters retired, got married and, in May 2008, gave birth to a daughter. Once No. 1, she came to the U.S. Open unranked and needed a wild-card invitation from the U.S. Tennis Association.

“Little more nervous than usual. It’s a very special court to me, but I really enjoyed it,” Clijsters said. “I felt really good out there.”

By beating 18-year-old NCAA champion Devin Britton of Jackson, Miss., 6-1, 6-3, 7-5, Federer ran his winning streak to 35 matches at the tournament and became the first tennis player to surpass $50 million in career prize money. Serena Williams also beat an American teenager in straight sets, eliminating Alexa Glatch of Newport Beach, Calif., 6-4, 6-1.