Australian Open: Bencic stuns Venus in first round (Lead)

Melbourne Jan 15 (IANS) Switzerland s Belinda Bencic upset fifth seed Venus Williams in the first round of the women s singles competition in the Australian Open tennis tournament here on Monday.

Placed 78th in the world rankings Bencic defeated the American star 6-3 7-5 in a match that lasted one hour and 53 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena reports Efe news agency.

Bencic will face the winner of the match between Thailand s Luksika Kumkhum and Johanna Larsson of Sweden in the second round.

The world number 5 American struggled to find her rhythm in the rain-interrupted match dropping the first set.

Although Williams fared better in the second the in-form Swiss hitter outplayed the American and sealed the victory after breaking serve in the final game.

Bencic believes that in their previous meetings she showed the seven-time Grand Slam winner "too much respect."

"I played a little bit to careful and safe. So this time I decided to come out and hit it big " she said. "You really have to be on the limit of your game here."

It s the first time since 1997 that the Australian Open will not feature either of the Williams sisters in the second round after Serena withdrew from the tournament at the start of the month following her pregnancy.

"She played above and beyond " a disappointed Williams told Xinhua news agency after the match. "I don t think I played a bad match... maybe I had a few too many unforced errors. I think she just played well."

--IANS
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