Daily Times

BEIJING: Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams crashed out of the first round of the China Open to Chinese wildcard Peng Shuai on Monday.

World number one Angelique Kerber, meanwhile, continued her stellar season by beating qualifier Katerina Siniakova in two sets in her opening match in Beijing. After a close first set, the former US Open semi-finalist Peng allowed the American veteran just one game point in the second to win 7-5, 6-1. “In the first set I was really trying to fight because I think she got three set points,” said Peng after the match.

“I think in the second set it’s really important when I got the first three points. It gave me more motivation.” Peng, 30, came of age at the same time as China’s first – and only – Grand Slam singles champion Li Na. She reached a career high of 17 in 2011, the same year Li won her first Slam at Roland Garros and rose to world number five, taking with her the popularity of tennis in China.

But Peng’s career has since been blighted by injury, which forced her to miss much of 2015 and pushed her to the brink of retirement. “After the surgery, no one could guarantee I could come back to the court,” Peng said.