Venus conqueror falls, teen qualifier moves on

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA— Two days after her upset win over 2017 finalist Venus Williams, Belinda Bencic is out of the Australian Open. Bencic started flatly on Hisense Arena on Wednesday and lost 6-1, 6-3 to powerful hitting Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum.

The 20-year-old Swiss, who combined with Roger Federer to win the Hopman Cup in the lead-up to the season’s first major, saved three match points on her serve before netting a backhand to give No. 124thranked Kumkhum a spot in the third round for the first time..

In other action, former Australian junior champion Marta Kostyuk, a 15-year-old qualifier who entered the tournament ranked No. 521, followed up her opening win over 25th-seeded Peng Shuai with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over wild-card entry Olivia Rogowska. Kostyuk is the youngest player since Martina Hingis in 1996 to win a main-draw match at the year’s opening major.

PAUL CROCK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES France’s Benoit Paire lost his match, and his cool, in first-round action at the Australian Open, where the temperature was a seasonal 31C.