Tennis News: Belinda Bencic cruises past a tearful Serena Williams with a straight-set victory 

Serena Williams was playing her first match since announcing her retirement in a recent Vogue article. The crowd greeted her with a thunderous ovation as she walked to the hard court at the ATP 1000 event.

Serena Williams was looking to win consecutive singles matches for the first since the 2021 Roland Garros after beating Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain in straight sets in the opening round.

Belinda Bencic began building return pressure on Serena Williams from the first game. She took control of the match with her serve and broke her American opponent twice to clinch the first set 6-2 after 41 minutes of play.

Serena Williams regained her momentum in the second set but was broken after she committed a double fault at 3-3, allowing Belinda Bencic to move ahead.

The 25-year-old Swiss sensation fired 25 winners to 13 errors compared to 13 sinners and 18 unforced errors by Serena Williams.

In a post-match interview, Belinda Bencic said, "The crowd was incredible tonight. Just being part of that whole thing, it's just really very special for me as well and for her. And I think US Open it's going to be even more special. So good luck to everyone who has to play her."

Belinda Bencic will lock horns with Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain for a quarterfinal spot on August 12.

The 28-year-old Spaniard advanced to the pre-quarters after beating Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-4, 6-4 on August 11.

When speaking about her last appearance at the Canadian Open, Serena Williams said, "It was a lot of emotions obviously. I love playing here. I've always loved playing here. I wish I could have played better, but Belinda played so well today. It's been an interesting 24 hours. As I said in the article, I'm terrible at goodbyes. But, Goodbye, Toronto."

Serena Williams has won the crown at the US Open six times. It will be interesting to see how her final appearance at the outdoor hardcourt in New York goes.

Home hope Bianca Andreescu also advanced to pre-quarters after beating Alizé Cornet of France 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 after two hours and 26 minutes of play.

The victory improved the win-loss ratio of Bianca Andreescu against her French opponent to 2-1, with Cornet winning at both of their previous meeting in straight sets.

Bianca Andreescu will next face Qinwen Zheng of China in the third round of the Canadian Open on August 12.