Venus downs Begu to reach second round of Rogers Cup

Seven-time Grand Slam Champion Venus Williams kicked off her campaign at the Rogers Cup on a winning note as she swept aside Romanian qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu in three-set thriller here on Tuesday.

After winning the first set by a big margin, the ninth-seed went down in the second before rebounding strongly to post a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win over Irina-Camelia Begu in a rain-hit opening encounter that lasted one hour and 58 minutes.

Venus, who finished as runner-up in Montreal three years ago, took early control of the clash with the same explosive groundstrokes that helped her reach two Grand Slam finals this year.

The 37-year-old was untroubled throughout the first set, but she faced much resistance in the second set from Irina-Camelia Begu, who eventually forced the match to go into the tie-breaker.

However, Venus bounced back strongly in the decider to make it to the second round following a lengthy rain delay.

Venus has now set up a clash against Ericsson Open champion Katerina Siniakova, who trounced qualifier Mariana Duque-Marino 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 in the opening round.

Prior to this, the American tennis star had only once featured in the second round of the Rogers Cup when it took place in Toronto, where she reached without a win.