Williams beats defending champion Bertens to reach third round of Cincinnati Open

Venus Williams has defeated last year's Cincinnati Open champion Kiki Bertens to advance to the third round.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner broke twice in the opening set but lost three games on her own serve in the second as her Dutch opponent sent the match into a decider. 

And the final set lasted over an hour as a break apiece led to a winner-take-all tie-breaker.

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Crucially, Williams rushed into a 3-0 lead and held on to win the tie-break 7-4 and move into the next round.

The American will now play either Donna Vekic or Victoria Azarenka for a place in the quarter-finals.

Williams has had a mixed season so far in 2019, winning 15 matches and losing 10, but has been knocked out in the first round of both the French Open and Wimbledon.