TORONTO: Kateryna Bondarenko

of Ukraine upset third-ranked Venus Williams

1-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the $2 million WTA hardcourt tournament here on Tuesday.

Williams, who enjoyed a first-round bye, roared to a quick victory in the opening set but by the finish had fallen to 0-3 all-time in the Canadian WTA event, the final major tuneup for many players ahead of the US Open. Williams was not the only seed sent packing.

Australian Samantha Stosur defeated Russian sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3. The Aussie will next face either France’s Virginie Razzano or Italy’s Flavia Pennetta. Williams saw a silver lining in the loss, knowing she had almost two weeks to rest before the year’s final Grand Slam event starts at Flushing Meadows. Bondarenko, ranked 64th, will face either Hungary’s Agnes Szavay or Poland’s Agnieska Radwanska in the third round.

Serbian standout Ana Ivanovic advanced to the second round by rallying to defeat Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Ivanovic, the 21-year-old world No 11, still seeking her first WTA title of the year, made seven double faults but outlasted her 47th-ranked rival. Ivanovic’s next opponent will be Czech Lucie Safarova, who defeated Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).

China’s Zheng Jie ousted Russia’s Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-2, and faces Kim Cljisters, making a comeback after taking a two-year break to start a family, in a second-round match. Kim Clijsters beatt Elena Baltacha 6-3, 6-4. Israel’s Shahar Peer took more than two and a half hour but finally advanced past Romania’s Monica Niculescu 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4).

Hewitt survives

CINCINNATI: Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt saved two match points in a second-set tiebreaker and rallied to beat Sweden’s Robin Soderling 3-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 to advance at the ATP Cincinnati Masters on Tuesday.

Soderling was the man who knocked Rafael Nadal out of the French Open, ending the Spaniard’s four-year reign at Roland Garros on his way to the final where he lost to Roger

Federer, just as he did in

the Wimbledon fourth round. Former world

No 1 Hewitt will face Germany’s Benjamin Becker for the first time.

Italy’s Andreas Seppi booked a place in the second round opposite Spain’s Nadal with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 comeback triumph over Czech Jan Hernych. Spaniard David Ferrer ousted Croatian Marin Cilic 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to put himself in the path of world No 1 Roger Federer. The Swiss star must defeat Argentina’s Jose Acasuso to book a date with Ferrer.

French ninth seed Gilles Simon outlasted Russian Igor Andreev 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (6/8), 6-1. His next foe

will be a Russian, either eighth seed Nikolay Davydenko or Igor Kunitsyn, who beat James Blake 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (5/7), 6-4. Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny defeated Romania’s Victor Hanescu 7-5, 6-2 and next meets Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who ousted 11th-seeded countryman Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (7/4),

7-6 (7/4). Austrian Jurgen Melzer outlasted Spain’s

Feliciano Lopez 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (9/7).