Peng Shuai beats Venus Williams in 1st round of China Open

Posted October 03, 2016 7:00 am

The Associated Press

Peng Shuai of China hits a return shot against Venus Williams of the United States during their women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Stadium in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) The Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) - Peng Shuai produced the upset of the first round in the China Open on Monday, beating sixth-seeded Venus Williams 7-5, 6-1.

The 30-year-old Chinese wild-card entry broke Williams' serve twice in the second set.

In other matches, top-ranked Angelique Kerber defeated Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-4, No. 16 Elina Svitolina beat Tatjana Maria 6-2, 6-2, Daria Gavrilova beat Christina McHale 6-4, 6-4, and fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova eliminated Lucie Safarova 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-4.

Defending champion Garbine Muguruza, the French Open champion who is seeded second, beat Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 7-6 (5) in the second round.

"I'm very happy I could close the match in the tiebreak because obviously it was getting tougher and tougher," Muguruza said. "Tiebreaks are moments where it's delicate. You feel a bit more nervous and more tense."

In the men's first round, fifth-seeded David Ferrer beat Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 7-6 (3) and No. 7 Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Australian qualifier John Millman 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Venus Williams of the United States is seated during a break in her women's singles against Peng Shuai of China at the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Stadium in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) The Associated Press

Angelique Kerber of Germany hits a return against Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic during their women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Stadium in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) The Associated Press

Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic hits a return against Angelique Kerber of Germany during their women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Stadium in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.