NEW YORK — Venus Williams dug herself out of deficits over and over again, until she simply ran out of solutions, exiting the U.S. Open before the third round for the third year in a row. At 33, two-time champion Williams was the oldest woman in the second round at Flushing Meadows, and while she made things interesting after a poor start to the match and to the final set, she couldn't sustain her solid play all the way through and lost to 56th-ranked Zheng Jie of China 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5) on a wet Wednesday. The match last 3 hours, 2 minutes — making it the longest between women in the tournament so far — and the third set alone went 1½ hours, closing when Williams missed a volley, then a return, on the last two points.