Defending champion Venus Williams loses to Kasatkina in 1st round of ASB Classic in Auckland
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Defending champion and top-seeded Venus Williams has lost 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2 to Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina in the first round of the ASB Classic.
The 18-year-old Kasatkina, ranked No. 75 and the third-youngest player inside the top 100, was handed a wildcard in recognition of her potential and fulfilled that promise with a win over the No. 7-ranked Williams.
Williams contributed to the defeat with 73 unforced errors.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After losing the long first set, Kasatkina matched Williams from the baseline and curbed her own errors to take the second, then rallied from 3-1 down to win the decider, gaining the vital service break in the seventh game and breaking again in the ninth.
"I couldn't ask for a better start to the year," Kasatkina said. "It took all my power."