On a day when back injury sustained in Toronto forced Serena Williams to withdraw before her second-round match at the Western & Southern Open, Venus Williams upset defending champion Kiki Bertens to reach the third round.
Trying to control her shots and play smart, instead of going wild with power, unseeded Venus Williams won a thriller against fifth seed Kiki Bertens, prevailing in the third-set tiebreak after her Dutch opponent rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 5-2 in the decider, 6-3 6-3 7-6(4). Also in the second round, sixth seed Petra Kvitova fell to Maria Sakkari 6-4 2-6 6-3, as the Greek scored her sixth career Top 10 victory.