Anna Tatishvili

Greek tennis champion Maria Sakkari faced little resistance from Anna Tatishvili of the United States, winning their first-round match at the French Open in Paris in straight sets on Tuesday. [Yoan Valat/EPA] 

Top seed Venus Williams' bid to win the WTA Istanbul Cup ended at the first hurdle on July 21, as the American icon lost 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) to Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko.

Top-seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark easily advanced to the second round of the Istanbul Cup, defeating Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-0, 6-0 on July 15.

Wozniacki allowed no hope for the 17-year-old, dubbed as the leading player in her age group, and finished with a “double bagel,” giving away no games.

The seventh edition of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup, the most important women’s tennis tournament in Turkey, starts with the first round games July 14.