Venus Williams suffers shock upset

Melbourne, Jan 19: Eighth seed Venus Williams has provided Australian Open fans with the shock of the tournament so far after she was bundled out by World No.47 Johanna Konta of Britain here on Tuesday.

Williams, 35, was enjoying a renaissance of form in the back half of 2015, but continued her poor start to 2016, losing to Konta in straight sets, 4-6, 2-6 at the Melbourne Park, reports Xinhua.

Williams was almost bageled in the second set by a relentless Konta, who forced the seven-time Grand Slam winner across the court, but managed a mini-fight back before falling after one hour and 19 minutes.

Konta, 24, admitted her lead-up form wasn't the best, despite playing at two tournaments before here.

"I played two previous tournaments and didn't have the right results but I have strong belief in the way I want to play. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Today I won. It was hot out there and I was playing an incredibly good player, but I felt I was playing at a good level," she said.

Konta could face China's No.1 ranked player Zheng Saisai in the second round. Zheng faces German Carina Witthoelt later on Tuesday.