SYDNEY: Belinda Bencic said it was an “amazing feeling” after she beat 2017 runner-up Venus Williams in the first round of the Australian Open.
The unseeded 20-year-old Swiss, ranked 78th, won 6-3 7-5 on the opening day in Melbourne. She reached the top 10 as an 18-year-old but a wrist injury led her to drop to 318 in the rankings in November.
Bencic has now won 16 tour matches in a row, and 28 of her last 31, as she races back up the rankings.
“I lost to Venus four times and I tried my best to give my all today, and changed some things tactically. “I think it was a huge opportunity and I used it, so I was very relived after the match point. After the injury and the tough times it’s really an amazing feeling.”
The match had been widely viewed as the pick of the first-round draw, with Bencic’s lowly ranking no indication of the threat she posed to fifth seed and seven-times Grand Slam champion Williams.
Trending
- UN Human Rights Committee published findings on seven states, including the UK and Northern Ireland
- A review meeting holds at the office of Director General(Ext) L&DDD
- CTO orders officials to maintain a smooth flow of traffic on roads
- Police would deal Kite-flying violators with sternly, DPO Attock
- Zubair Khan Wazir holds a detailed meeting with South Waziristan line departments
- Al-Ahsan Hospital provides special treatment discounts to deserving patients, Muhammad Hasnain
- One-day program on substantial abuse holds at Batamaloo Srinagar
- CM Punjab visits Lahore Ring Road Southern Loop-3