Venus Williams of the US. reacts during her match against China's Peng Shuai. [Photo/Agencies]

Earlier in the day, Gabrine Muguruza's title defense effort was spurred as the Spaniard took down Kazakhstan's Yulia Putinseva 6-2, 7-6(5) in the second round.

Muguruza said that she could feel her opponent getting stronger as the match wore on, and added that she is glad to have sealed the deal with the tiebreaker.

"I'm very happy I could close the match in the tiebreak because obviously it was getting tougher and tougher. I think she was getting into the match a little bit more," she said.

She added that while Putinseva fought her hard on every point, she tried to stay focused on herself and remain in control.