Venus Williams crashes out in round 1 of the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Last year's Australian Open winner, Venus Williams, has crashed out on day one of this year's tournament on Monday, going down in straight sets to 20 year old, Belinda Bencic, at the Rod Laver Arena.

The world number five struggled to find her rhythm in the rain-interrupted first round match up, dropping the first set to Bencic, 6-3.

Although Williams fared better in the second, the in-form Swiss hitter outworked the American and sealed the victory 7-5, after breaking serve in the final game.

It's the first time since 1997, the Australian Open will not feature either of the Williams sisters in the second round, after Serena withdrew from the tournament at the beginning of the month following her recent pregnancy. Enditem