The American Venus Williams, world number five, fell in the first round of the Australian Open tennis tournament against the Swiss Belinda Bencic, ranked 78th in the WTA, in two sets, 6-3, 7-5.
Williams, 37, lost in just two hours to the 20-year-old player. Last year she reached the final of the Australian tournament won by her sister Serena, who is not participating this year after giving birth to a baby girl.
This is the first time in 20 years that the Williams family is not in the second round in Australia.
The world number five was not lucky to face Bencic in the first round. The Swiss player is only ranked 78th in the world, but she is one of the great promises of the circuit, who entered the top 10 at the age of 18, before stringing together the poor results in 2017.
By: AFP