Venus Williams crashes out of Istanbul Cup
Tuesday 21 July 2015 23:49, UK
Venus Williams has crashed out of the Istanbul Cup after losing in straight sets to Kateryna Bondarenko in the first round.
The American top seed suffered a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) first-round defeat to the Ukrainian qualifier.
Bondarenko managed three service breaks in the opening set and took a 5-2 lead in the second before Williams rallied, winning four consecutive games and serving at 6-5 for the set.
However, the momentum swung back Bondarenko's way as the Ukrainian won 11 of the last 15 points to seal the victory - almost six years after she won their last meeting in the Tortonto Cup.
In other matches, Urszula Radwanska of Poland upset third-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-4 3-6 6-2 and fourth-seeded Alize Cornet of France beat Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-3 7-5.
Francesca Schiavone and Camila Giorgi of Italy advanced, along with Alexandra Panova of Russia, Kurumi Nara of Japan and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.
