Bondarenko upsets Venus

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:44

It all seemed to be going to plan for the number three seed, who had a bye in the first round, when she made light work of the first set.

But Bondarenko broke in the first game of the second and, although Williams broke straight back, the Ukrainian went on to level the match. Bondarenko broke the five-time Wimbledon champion’s serve again in the ninth game of the third set and held on to beat the elder Williams sister for the first time in three meetings.

In the first round, Ana Ivanovic fought back after losing the first set to see off qualifier Magdalena Rybarikova 2-6 6-3 6-2 in just under two hours.

The number 11 seed got off to a poor start but eventually got into her stride to secure herself a second-round meeting with Lucie Safarova, who beat Kaia Kanepi in straight sets 6-4 7-6 (7/3).

Number 16 seed and last year’s runner-up Dominika Cibulkova is safely through after she dispatched Sara Errani 6-4 6-2.

Elena Vesnina’s service struggles contributed to her crashing out of the tournament 6-3 6-2 to China’s Jie Zheng.

The Russian hit eight double faults and only won 33% of points on her serve.

Elsewhere in the first round, Alla Kudryavtseva beat Julie Coin 2-6 6-1 7-6 (8/6) and Shahar Peer saw off Monica Niculescu 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7/4).

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