Venus Williams has bowed out of the Australian Open in her opening match against Belinda Bencic. Coming into the match many experts had predicted the in-form Bencic to cause an historic upset. These predictions came true as Bencic clinched a 6-3, 7-5 win over the 5th seeded American.
Last years finalist, Williams, was arguably handed the toughest draw in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. The prospect of the up-and-coming Bencic facing off against the experienced Williams had the tennis community salivating, and this opening-day match did not fail to deliver.
Both players came out very strong and playing incredible tennis. The American was running Bencic side to side, but the Swiss’ punishing down-the-line forehands left Venus wondering what more she had to do to win a point. Bencic was feeding off the power play from Williams and captured a break early and took a 4-3 lead. A short rain delay halted play at 4-3 (deuce), but Bencic held her nerve and came back from the break even stronger, winning the first set 6-3.
The giant of the sport, Williams, would not go away, and the second set somehow lifted in quality. The hard-hitting American came out strong, but Bencic found another level. Williams had to twice hold serve just to stay in the match. She succeeded the first time, but incredible play the second time around saw Bencic take four straight points, and the Swiss was able to capture the second set 7-5.
Bencic looks to be in stunning form and now has a huge chance to go deep into this year’s tournament after taking out the 5th seed Williams. She essentially inherits the American’s draw, meaning that she won’t face another Top 10 seed until at least the semifinals.
Williams’ loss came shortly after fellow American seed (and 2017 US Open champion) Sloane Stephens was also upset.
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