Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Seven-time major titlist and two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams was ousted from the final Grand Slam event of the season after falling to Chinas Zheng Jie on a rainy Wednesday. Zheng came through for a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5) second-round victory in a match that lasted more than three hours. "I want to say sorry guys," Zheng said, referring to Williams not having a chance for her third title in Flushing Meadows before the home crowd. "Today was a tough match for me. In the second set she was playing so great and in the final set we were fighting each other." Several womens matches scheduled for Wednesday were pushed back a day due to the wet weather. Among those included in the postponements was world No. 1 and defending champion Serena Williams. Her second-round match against Kazakhstans Galina Voskoboeva was postponed until Thursday. Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska and fifth-seeded Li Na were a pair of winners. Venus, whose match started late afternoon and lasted into the night at Louis Armstrong Stadium, was delayed a couple of minutes with the third set even, 5-5, due to drizzling conditions. The American rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the tiebreaker, but was set back due to 44 unforced errors. She equaled the tiebreaker, 5-5, when Zheng sent a return long. Venus then tried a backhand at the net, but never got it over. Zheng secured a third-round berth when Venus sent a backhand wide. "Today was tough," Zheng said of the rain. "In the second set I lost my concentration. She played so great." Next up for Zheng will be 18th-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, who dropped American Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-4. Meanwhile, last years Wimbledon runner-up Radwanska, of Poland, got past Spaniard Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor 6-0, 7-5 at Armstrong Stadium, while this years Australian Open runner-up and the former French Open champion Li, of China, handled Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 6-2 at Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Radwanska will meet Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Friday. Li was happy to beat the rain on Day 3. "Its tough for them," she said, referring to all the players who still had singles matches to complete. "For me, just relax all day and do whatever I want." American Sloane Stephens, the 15th seed, upended Polands Urszula Radwanska, 6-1, 6-1; and another American, No. 23 seed Jamie Hampton, got by Frances Kristina Mladenovic, 7-5, 6-4. Also Wednesday, No. 30 seed Laura Robson of Great Britain beat Frances Caroline Garcia, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5); and a 32nd-seeded Pavlyuchenkova eased past Aussie Ashleigh Barty 6-4, 6-0. Li will face Robson in the third round. The 16-time Grand Slam champion Serena is a four-time U.S. Open champ and two-time runner-up. She beat Victoria Azarenka in last years final in Flushing and is also the reigning French Open champ. In addition to Serenas match against Voskoboeva, officials also postponed matches involving No. 8 seed Angelique Kerber, No. 9 Jelena Jankovic and No. 25 Kaia Kanepi. Jankovic is a former No. 1 who lost to Serena in the 2008 U.S. Open finale. Vans Old Skool Pink . - The Detroit Lions have 13 takeaways this season — three less than all of last season — and the defence isnt the only unit pleased with the performance. Vans Sk8 Hi Clearance . PAUL, Minn. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-old-skool-sale.html .Stanton suffered fractures in his face and other injuries when he was hit by a pitch Sept. 11. The Marlins are confident hell fully recover and be ready for spring training, and they hope to reach a long-term agreement with him. Vans Old Skool White Sale . Russia has spent about $51 billion to deliver the Sochi Olympics, which run Feb. 7-23, making them the most expensive games ever, even though as a winter event it hosts many fewer athletes than summer games do. Vans Sk8 Hi Reissue . -- D. J. Williams finally has his packing strategy down.LEVI, Finland -- Canadas Marie-Michele Gagnon continued her strong start to the season with a fifth-place result in the first World Cup slalom of the year on Saturday, while teammate Elli Terwiel was a career-best 11th. Gagnon, from Lac-Etchemin, Que., all but secured her spot on Canadas team for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games with a 10th-place finish in last months giant slalom opener in Austria and the versatile 24-year-old followed that up with two determined, attacking runs Saturday amid strong winds and varying light. After two races she is sixth in the overall ladies World Cup rankings. "Im stoked -- just super happy that this race brought me fifth place and so, so happy for Elli. She was awesome today," said Gagnon, who had a two-run combined time of one minute 56.80 seconds. "It was a weird race -- it was a bit of a free-for-all. "I knew I wasnt far out after the first run. I skied just like I do in training -- it was just like a normal run." Terwiel, from Sun Peaks, B.C., found herself sitting seventh after an incredible first run and although she fell back a little on her second run an 11th-place finish represents her best-ever result in a World Cup race. Britt Phelan of Mont-Tremblant, Que., Anna Goodman of Pointe Claire, Que., and Erin Mielzynski of Collingwood, Ont., did not qualify for the second run. Terwiel, whose best World Cup results before Saturdays race were two 17th-place finishes -- both in January, 2013 -- took advantage of the wind dying down to put together a superb first run. "When I came down at the end of the first run I was fourth and I did a little bit of an oopen-jawed spin-around in the finish.dddddddddddd. It was a little too good to be true," said Terwiel, 24, who had a two-run combined time of 1:57.30. "A lot of things can go sideways so I tried to just focus on my skiing and the things Ive been working on in training this summer. This is my best result ever and its a top 12, which is one of the things I need for Olympic qualification. Its really exciting." American phenom Mikaela Shiffrin made a big mistake at the end of her second run but still dominated to win with a two-run combined time of 1:55.07. Germanys Maria Hoefl-Riesch was second (1:56.13) and Slovenias Tina Maze was third (1:56.6 -- just twelve-hundredths ahead of Gagnon. The 18-year-old Shiffrin led by half a second after the first run and raced seamlessly at the top of the hill in the second to extend her advantage, overcoming a mistake near the end to clock a combined time of 1 minute, 55.07 seconds. "Im really happy with how the day went and Im also really excited because it looks like there are some pretty fast girls in the back of the pack," Shiffrin said. "Im excited for the Olympics for sure but there are a couple of races between now and then, so hopefully I can just keep this going." The basic qualification criteria for nomination to Canadas Olympic team in alpine skiing is two top-12 World Cup results, with at least one this season. A single top-five result this year also counts, so Gagnon effectively cemented her place at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games with Saturdays result. Shes the only Canadian to have pre-qualified in alpine skiing to date. ' ' '