ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) – Venus Williams lost her first match since the Australian Open to Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 6-1 in the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Thursday.
Seeded fourth, Williams showed none of the spark which took her to the Australian Open final last weekend, failing to record a single winner in the opening set compared to 15 for her French opponent.
Mladenovic broke the tired-looking Williams in the first game of the second set and swiftly wrapped up the second-round win. Williams received a bye in the first round.
In the quarterfinals, Mladenovic meets defending St. Petersburg champion Roberta Vinci, who beat Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-4. Vinci, the sixth-seeded Italian, was broken twice in the first set.