Serena Williams’ journey at the National Bank Open in Toronto came to an end in the second round on Wednesday. Belinda Bencic, the 12th seed defeated the former world no. 1, 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 17 minutes.
Bencic won 84% of her first-serve points while Williams won 72% of her first-serve points. She hit 25 winners, 12 more than Williams’ 13 and 13 unforced errors, five fewer than the latter’s 18. The Swiss saved the only break point she faced while converting three of the eight break points she had on Williams’ serve.
At the end of the match, Williams said emotionally, “It was a lot of emotions obviously. I love playing here, I’ve always loved playing here. I wish I could have played better but Belinda played so well today. It’s been an interesting 24 hours. As I said in the article, I’m terrible at goodbyes. But, goodbye Toronto.”
Meanwhile, Bencic will take on Garbine Muguruza. The eighth-seeded Spaniard ousted Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 33 minutes in their opener.
National Bank Open: Anett Kontaveit’s the highest seed out
Simona Halep reached the round-of-16 in the Canadian event with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Shuai Zhang in an hour and 11 minutes. Halep won 71% of her first-serve points to her opponent’s 50%. The Romanian dropped her serve twice in the encounter while converting five of the nine break points she had on the latter’s serve.
Halep will play Jil Teichmann for a chance to reach the quarter-finals. The Swiss bundled out second seed Anett Kontaveit, 6-4, 6-4 in their round-of-32 meeting.
The top-seeded Iga Swiatek advanced safely to the third round. The Pole posted a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 win in 64 minutes against Ajla Tomljanovic in their second-round match-up. Swiatek failed to save both break points she faced while converting six of the nine break points she had on the Australian’s serve.
Looking to reach the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open, Iga Swiatek will play Beatriz Haddad Maia. The Brazilian upset the 13th-seeded Leylah Fernandez, 7-6(4), 6-1 in their round-of-32 face-off.
Photo Credit: WTA Twitter
