Barty knocks out Venus Williams in Cincinnati

MASON, OHIO » Venus Williams’ resurgent summer hit a bump Wednesday when he was knocked out of the Western & Southern Open by a qualifier in the second round.

Ashleigh Barty rallied for a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 upset on a humid afternoon that played to her advantage. Barty, ranked No. 48 on the ATP tour, had never beaten a Top 10 player — going 0-6 — before knocking off the ninthranked Williams.

Several more upsets further depleted the brackets Wednesday. Numerous top players have pulled out because of injury, leaving the tournament wide open.

No. 3 Angelique Kerber lost to Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (11), with the Russian converting on her eighth match point to end a 2-hour, 39-minute match. Makarova also upset Kerber at Roland Garros this season.

Kerber fell behind 5-2 in the third set, rallied to a tiebreaker, then got up 8-7. She wasted her only chance to finish it off.

“The third set was a completely up-and-down set,” Kerber said.

On the men’s side, wild card Frances Tiafoe broke through against No. 4 Alexander Zverev, who was coming off his second ATP Masters title in Montreal. The 19-year-old American hadn’t taken a set in his two career matches against Zverev, but rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory that ended Zverev’s streak of 10 straight match wins.

The men’s bracket is without Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and defending champion Marin Cilic because of injuries. The women’s bracket is missing Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova.

Venus Williams is enjoying a comeback season, reaching the finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon at age 37. She faded in the heat and humidity on Wednesday against a player who is 3-13 career against Top 20 players.