Venus knocked out of first round of Australian Open

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Ekaterina Makarova, who upset an injured Serena Williams in the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open, completed a Melbourne Park sweep of the Williams sisters by eliminating Venus 2-6 6-4 6-4 to advance to the second round on Monday.

(Reuters)

The 22nd seeded Russian came back from 3-0 down in the deciding set as seven-times grand slam champion Williams struggled to hold serve at Margaret Court Arena.

The 33-year-old Williams had conceded a decisive break in the second set with three successive double-faults and was powerless to prevent Makarova from sealing the match in a hurry.

Makarova brought up three match points with a big volley and closed it out when Williams blasted long on the second of them.

The Russian next faces American Irina Falconi.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford)