Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens were upset early and the bleak opening day for Americans continued at the Australian Open on Monday.
In her first match at Rod Laver Arena since losing last year’s final to her sister, Serena, Venus Williams lost her opener to Belinda Bencic 6-3, 7-5.
For fifth-seeded Venus, it was a first loss in five career meetings with Bencic, who lost to Serena in the first round last year.
“I don’t think I played a bad match. She just played above and beyond,” said Venus Williams, who was playing her 18th Australian Open. “I just have to give her credit for that.
“I didn’t play so bad, I wasn’t missing every shot. Just didn’t work out.”
Bencic credited playing with Roger Federer at the Hopman Cup — where they teamed up to win for Switzerland — with helping her recent improvement. She also had a new attitude against Williams, and she had Federer’s parents in the crowd for support.
“I was thinking a lot about the last matches. For the first matches, I think I had a little bit too much respect, played a little bit careful and safe,” Bencic said. “This time I really tried to come out and hit it big.”
U.S. Open champion Stephens was the first American to fall, losing 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 to No. 34-ranked Zhang Shuai. She was followed by Williams and No. 10-seeded CoCo Vandeweghe, a semifinalist here and at the U.S. Open last year, who was feeling sick and frustrated in 7-6 (4), 6-2 loss to Timea Babos.