Carla Suarez Navarro cruised past Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 to reach the second round at the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
The Spaniard was the more consistently powerful player as her return game proved to be too much for the 39 year-old American.
A 6-4 6-2 win means she sets up a second round Toronto clash with Anett Kontaveit while Venus Williams will drop to her lowest ranking in seven years.
In other results 10th seed Anastasija Sevastova crashed out in the opening round to Shuai Zhang while Victoria Azarenka progressed to the next round.
It was a hard-fought start to the match from both players as they had to overcome cloudy and rainy conditions to start the match.
There were early signs though that it would be Suarez Navarro who would control her aggression better as she was constructing some powerful shots.
Even though Venus was dictating play from her first serve, the second serve was more vulnerable which saw Suarez Navarro take full advantage.
The break in the seventh game was the crucial blow to Venus’ chances as the 30 year-old sensed an opportunity to gain a good opening round win in Toronto.
Although the American battled well, Suarez Navarro controlled the match and converted her fifth set point to take the opening set in 45 minutes.
.@CarlaSuarezNava takes the opening set over Venus Williams, 6-4!#RC19 pic.twitter.com/EuwxrndmyN
— wta (@WTA) August 6, 2019
There was not much difference to Venus in the second set, who despite breaking serve twice, couldn’t hold her serve as the unforced errors flowed from her racket.
Some exquisite angles saw Suarez Navarro hold her serve in the sixth and eighth games to see her into the second round against Anett Kontaveit.
As for Venus, it is a fourth defeat in a row and her ranking will now drop down to 64 in the world, her lowest in seven years.
Although one grand slam champion struggled, another one thrived as Victoria Azarenka cruised past Washington finalist Camila Giorgi.
A 6-2 6-2 win over the Italian saw her seal a place in the second round against Dayana Yastremska, while a potential match against doubles partner Ash Barty could await in round three.
There was also a 2 hour and 38 minute win for Katerina Siniakova over Danielle Collins, which means she will play Elina Svitolina tomorrow.
