There was little drama and no turning point in Venus Williams’ 6-2, 6-2 second-round U.S. Open win over Meilen Tu last night. Williams was all business in the straight-set victory, stepping over Tu like nothing more than a speedbump on the road toward her Open title defense.

Williams had to deal with swirling winds at Arthur Ashe Stadium, as well as seemingly not being at her best physically at the end of the match. She brushed aside both problems as easily as she did the 23-year-old Californian.

“I’m feeling OK. I think I played OK, [but] I feel I can do a lot better,” Williams said. “It’s always windy here. I’ve played a lot of years in the wind here. It was a little windy. The first time I did play in 1994, it was quite tough, but by now it’s a walk in the park.”

That could describe last night’s one-hour, two-minute win, in which Williams seemed almost bored at times. The 6-foot-1 Williams has won 19 of her last 20 matches, and had 10 aces and 29 winners against her diminutive 5-foot-4, 100-pound foe, who didn’t have a single ace.

The gritty but outclassed Tu actually broke Williams’ serve three times, and both of the games she won in the first set were on breaks. But she was clearly out of her league.

Tu had fought Williams tooth-and-nail in a 6-4, 7-6 loss in Nice, France, earlier this year, and actually won a junior championship here at the National Tennis Center seven years ago. But Williams won the real thing here last year, and is playing the most complete tennis of her career.

She’s won three of the last five Grand Slams, including defending her Wimbledon crown. And last night she played the feature match for a crowd of 23,033, rising to the occasion as usual. She’s 9-0 in nighttime matches at the Open.

“I’m a marquee match, Match of the Day. They chose me to play the night match; that’s nice,” Williams said. “What is it about the night matches? I don’t know. It’s nice having a nice record at night. I’d prefer not to have any more losses.

“If I play my best, I’d have a wonderful shot [at defending the title]. I don’t always play my best, but if I play near my best, and if I play the important points the way I should, that’s what counts.

“I definitely love winning. I hate going home a loser. I hate having to start over. I’d love to take this title home. I’ve just started. I only have three. I’d like to keep counting them until I’ve got to start counting on my toes.”

Williams’ road to her fourth Slam continues in the third round, when she faces another American, No. 30 Lisa Raymond. It remains to be seen if Raymond can handle Williams’ overhanded smashes any better than Tu.

“I did the best I could . . . but she hit the crap out of the ball,” said Tu, whose parents are from Taiwan. “I just never found my rhythm. I never adjusted to the conditions. It was really windy out there. She obviously handled it much better. She’s been on that court many more times than I have been, so may be used to it.

“It’s a grand slam. Nobody wants to waste energy. All top players are on their top game at grand slam. So if she can finish you off, she will.”