Teenager Venus Williams had an easy passage past Ruxandra Dragomir in the first round of the Sydney international tournament yesterday to set up a US Open final replay against world number one Martina Hingis.

Williams won the first set 6-4 before Romania's Dragomir was forced to retire with a hamstring injury, giving the American the chance to make amends for the demolition she suffered at the hands of Swiss prodigy Hingis at Flushing Meadow last September.

Williams and fellow teenager Hingis made the youngest Grand Slam final pairing in Open tennis history, but it was Hingis who crushed her slightly older opponent in just 62 minutes.

Hingis (17) and world number one since last March was handed a first round bye. The men's singles draw is also not short of teenage talent and features Australia's Lleyton Hewitt as a wildcard entrant. Hewitt yesterday upset compatriot Jason Stoltenberg to win the Australian men's hard-court title.