Diana Shnaider ended Venus Williams' record 22nd appearance at the Miami Open in the first round, defeating the three-time champion 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour and 19 minutes.

The contest was one of many contrasts. Williams, 43, is the oldest player in the 2024 main draw; Shnaider, 19, is one of six teenagers contesting it this year. Williams was playing her 85th main-draw match in Miami, another tournament record (this time, joint with sister Serena); Shnaider was playing her first, having fallen in the first round of qualifying to Laura Siegemund on her debut last year.

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But although Williams had the upper hand in terms of the gulf in experience, No.62-ranked Shnaider had the edge in form. She claimed her first Hologic WTA Tour title last month in Hua Hin, and reached the Charleston WTA 125 final last week. By contrast, Williams was playing just her second tournament of the year following a seven-month injury layoff, and is ranked No.457. She fell in the first round of Indian Wells to Nao Hibino a fortnight ago, and has not won a match since defeating Veronika Kudermetova in the first round of Cincinnati last August.

However, the former World No.1 forced Shnaider to work hard for the win, displaying some vintage ball-striking and leading by an early break in the second set.

How the match was won: Williams played her best tennis early in both sets. Having gone down an early break in the first, she put together a three-game streak which featured a superb scrambling backhand winner to take a 3-2 lead. And the seven-time major champion responded to the loss of the first set by unleashing at the start of the second, getting on the front foot to break Shnaider twice and holding five points to lead 3-1.

But it was Shnaider who had the run of the match overall. She struck 22 winners to Williams's 15, and kept her unforced error count down to 14 compared to the American's 24. Six double faults also contributed to Williams's loss, including one on break point in the penultimate game of the match.

Shnaider's left-handed forehand was the star shot of the day, and she found winners with it at several crucial junctures, including three to break Williams in the final game of the first set. The youngster also impressed with her front-running ability: once she had navigated the tight early exchanges, she ran away with both sets, rattling off four straight games to win the first and three straight to win the second.

Shnaider will next face another American, No.17 seed Madison Keys, in the second round, where she will bid for her third career Top 20 win.