Venus Williams unexpectedly knocked out in first round of Australian Open

American tennis player Venus Williams surprisingly bid farewell in the first round of the Australian Open after losing to Swiss player Belinda Bencic 6-3, 7-5.

The older of the Williams sisters, ranked fifth in the world, will not be able to defend the points she earned last year when she reached the final in Melbourne. She lost that match against Serena Williams, who withdrew from this year's Australian Open due to not yet being in full form after becoming a mother.

Bencic, the newly crowned champion of the Hopman Cup with Switzerland alongside Roger Federer, achieved her first victory in five encounters against Venus Williams.

The young 20-year-old Swiss, emotionally celebrated her triumph against one of the players she used to follow on TV in her childhood. "I never imagined I would be playing against them now," she said after her victory over 17-year-older Venus on the center court of the tournament.

Williams credited her opponent for the result. "I don't think I played a bad game myself. She simply played incredible. Credit to her," she commented.

The defeat of the older Williams sister in the Rod Laver Arena adds to the earlier elimination of American Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion.

Stephens lost 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), and 6-2 to Chinese player Zhang Shuai on the Margaret Court court, extending her losing streak to eight matches since she won the title at Flushing Meadows in September of last year.

In another match of the opening day of the tournament, Latvian Jelena Ostapenko defeated Italian Francesca Schiavone in a clash between the current and a former champion of Roland Garros.

Ostapenko, the winner on the Paris clay last year, prevailed 6-1, 6-4 over the 2011 French Open champion in the match that opened the action at the Rod Laver Arena.

Also on the same stage, Spanish player Rafael Nadal, the world number one, is scheduled to make his debut against Dominican Víctor Estrella Burgos at night.

The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, kicked off its activities on Monday and will feature the best tennis players in the world until January 28th.

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